


Bluebird

by sstuartniccals



Category: Gorillaz
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bubble Bath, Cats, Childhood, Children, Dogs, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Loneliness, Loss of Parent(s), Napping, Near Death Experiences, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Phase Five (Gorillaz), Phase Four (Gorillaz), Phase Three (Gorillaz), Phase Two (Gorillaz), Primary School, Singing, Single Parents, Teddy Bears, Toddlers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2018-12-08 03:43:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 30,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11638221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sstuartniccals/pseuds/sstuartniccals
Summary: Inspired by rancidpepper's character Sydney and the email that can be found on 2D's computer in the old Kong Studios game.





	1. Post Phase One - 1

September 27th, 2002. On that day, a little girl was born to a dying woman. That little girl was doomed to never meet her mother. For better or worse, however, her father was located a few months later. Stuart Pot, otherwise known as 2D.

It was Christmas of that year when a knock could be heard. 2D's mum went to answer the door, and before she did, she called to him over her shoulder.  
"Stuart, if this is someone from child support at my door telling me that you aren't paying the poor women, I'll get that Murdoc to hit you with his car again," she said, though it was a rather empty threat as she really wished he hadn't gotten hit at all.  
"I've been payin' Mum," 2D promised, toying with the sleeve of his jumper.  
A woman was stood at the door holding a tiny bundle. Rachel Pot covered her mouth for a brief moment, and blinked.  
"Is this the home of Stuart Pot?" The woman asked.  
"Yes," Rachel responded. "He's inside. Come in, it's cold out there."  
The woman walked inside, holding the tiny thing wrapped in its blanket. 2D squinted to try and figure out what it was. She held out her hand for 2D to shake.  
"Serenity Wolfe, I work at a nearby orphanage and we've recently found that this girl is your daughter," she said. "Her mother, Lilac Bates, recently passed away and after some tests we've determined that you're the father."  
2D paused after he shook her hand. Lilac was a pretty, nice girl he had met some time on tour or something. Merry Christmas, a nice woman is dead and her child is stuck with you.  
After a moment, 2D tipped his head like a curious puppy. His voice was soft as if to not wake up the sleeping baby. "Did Lilac name her?"  
Serenity nodded. "Amber Grace... I suppose it would be Amber Grace Pot."  
"Yeh," 2D said, his voice quiet as he nodded. "I quite like that."  
His mother seemed conflicted. She seemed to be slightly disappointed, her son had so many children that some of them weren't even known of. But the chance that he might be more than willing to take care of at least one of them made her happy. The possibility of him being a responsible adult was a Christmas miracle.  
2D took little Amber from Serenity's arms. He held her carefully, studying her face carefully. She looked remarkably like her mother, just with more of 2D's nose and definitely his hair, as it was messy blue. The baby was soft to the touch and probably the most interesting thing 2D had ever laid his eyes on. The more he looked at her, the more he remembered her mother. They had gone out for a while, but 2D had to break it off in fear that Murdoc would mess with her. Lilac had understood, and she had left. And now she was dead. 2D sighed. He decided that he needed to take care of Amber. He would be the greatest father to ever live... even if he needed some assistance.  
"Where do I sign?" 2D asked softly, a slight smile on his face as he gazed down at the little girl in his arms.  
Serenity smiled as well. Serenity ran a hand through her hair slightly. "Come in next week and we can get things taken care of. But I suppose you can take some time to get to know the little thing."  
2D nodded. Silently, he promised Amber that he would be the best dad she could ever have.

January. A little less than a month since 2D got Amber, who he assured was his favorite Christmas gift, even though she couldn't understand him. It made her smile, which was good enough. 2D was completely ignorant when it came to raising a child, and he was very lucky that he had his parents' assistance. Amber was the lucky one, really, as she probably wouldn't have lasted a day if they weren't there. It took a while to get into 2D's head that a four month old can't learn to speak sentences. 2D's frustrated attempts made Amber laugh, so that was a pro.  
It was truly shocking how short her temper was. It was worse than her father's at the mention of a certain cheating slag. If she spat out her pacifier onto the floor, or wet herself, or accidentally dropped the tiny stuffed rabbit that 2D had found for her at Tesco. She would scream and cry, and then 2D would frantically try to calm her down, doing whatever he could and speaking utter nonsense, which she might have possibly understood. But god, he didn't realize he could love something so much. She was so interesting to him, even though she was just a little baby. 2D knew that they would go through a lot together if things actually managed to go well. God, he hoped they would.  
"I promise I'll do my best to care for you," 2D said softly to the tiny thing in his arms. "I swear it on my life."  
Amber giggled at him quietly. 2D's heart melted. He would be the greatest dad. He would try his best, anyways.


	2. Post Phase One - 2

February. A month generally associated with love, though normally romantic. For 2D, the month was about a family love. About the steadily growing bond between him and the little girl that he was shocked that he even made. Most of the things about Amber shocked 2D, really. The way she moved, the way her curious eyes would always avidly search any room she was in. The way she examined the expressions people had, or how she followed where voices were coming from. She was so interested by everything. It was wonderful, how everything was magic to her. That was almost magical to 2D, and it made his care for her grow. His love for his daughter.

One late night, Amber could be heard crying. When 2D's mother went to see if everything is okay, she found the crying ceasing. What she saw made her heart swell.  
2D laid in his bed, his blue hair messier than usual. Amber rested on his chest, cuddled against him. He held her so she wouldn't fall off of him, whisper-singing to her in the hopes that it would calm her down or help her sleep. He sighed in relief when the little one cradled against him snored softly. But the moment he stopped singing, she wailed. She must not have been deep enough in sleep. So he picked back up where he had left off. He didn't even notice his mother standing at the door as he smiled down at Amber.  
"What are you doing?" His mother asked. A smile played on her lips.  
2D jumped at the sudden noise, but quickly made himself relax. "Amber couldn't sleep.... I fink she might've been uncomfortable or lonely.... So I let her stay wif me."  
Amber smiled in her sleep. 2D sighed gently. It was the most relaxed he had been in a while.

2D had begun to accept that he needed to be patient regarding Amber speaking. She babbled, yes, she was getting there. 2D took people's tips, like saying things to Amber and waiting a moment so she can "respond" in her own language. Both had much to learn as Amber grew up, truly. 2D needed to learn how to be a good father, and Amber needed to learn how to be a human being and simply grow up and live out her childhood. The happy little girl didn't even know how much of an adventure her life would be because of who her father was. Everyone in her life at that moment was determined to make sure she needn't know for as long as possible.  
2D was sat on the floor, keeping Amber on his lap and letting her use his chest for sitting support. Some strange cartoon was on TV. Wasn't half bad, which surprised 2D. He caught himself chuckling at stupid jokes that little kids wouldn't pick up (though it was shocking that he himself picked them up). Amber had no clue why he was laughing, but for the sake of giggling she giggled. 2D smiled down at her. There was no explaining how glad he was that he found out about her after the band went their separate ways. Murdoc wouldn't have let her stay, or Noodle might not have appreciated the shared attention. He wasn't sure how Russ would've reacted. Nevermind it, though. Why think of things that could have happened, when he could just enjoy life as it was?  
"Do you like it, Amber?" 2D asked her softly.  
Amber giggled at him and babbled something. She happily looked up at him. Her emerald green eyes glittered. 2D smiled down at her.  
"If that was a yes, then good," he responded, his voice cracking slightly.  
Her tiny head rested back against 2D's chest, the wisps of soft blue hair disturbed by the motion. It was almost instinctual, the way he moved forward slightly and gently kissed the top of her head. And he thought nothing of it, due to how natural it felt. It fit with the way it felt when he calmed her down when she was fussy, or the way he felt when her curious eyes met his. He loved his little girl more than anything the world had to offer. He wanted to care for her and protect her and do everything he could for her. He just didn't really realize it yet.

2D's mum had convinced him to take Amber for a check-up by himself. He tried to protest, knowing that it would probably be disastrous if it was just him and the baby. Chaotic. Hellish. Just like every other experience in his life. But there was already an appointment booked and there was no getting out of it. Besides, he needed to learn how to handle things like that, since he would be dealing with them for years to come. Oh well.  
Really, it wasn't as difficult as 2D expected. They just asked him some questions and examined Amber, who complied when 2D murmured words of encouragement to her. She didn't really understand them, but hearing her father speaking softly had easily calmed her down. She was very sleepy, so that helped them quite a bit. They called 2D a natural with her, even if he was new at the whole "dad" thing. And he was proud. He couldn't wait until Amber was older.  
He couldn't wait to see what his daughter would become.


	3. Post Phase One - 3

March and April were uneventful. Amber stayed the same as she had been, besides a little bit of growing here and there like babies do. It was midway through May when one of the most exciting things happened. Amber said her first word.  
2D had set her down, to relax on the couch with her favorite toys and some colorful kids' show on TV. She was pretty sleepy, resting against the back of the couch with her eyelids drooping. He smiled at her, glad that she was getting tired so he could go and get a snack. Maybe a late night bowl of cereal.  
He turned to walk away toward the kitchen, but just as he turned to walk away, a tiny voice stopped him.  
"No!"  
He whirled around in confusion. Amber was sat up, pouting.  
"No!" She wailed once more.  
"Excuse me?" 2D asked, a laugh edging his voice.  
Amber's eyebrows furrowed. She could tell her father was amused, but nothing was funny. "No!" She repeated, holding her arms out as if she wanted to be held.  
2D walked to her and lifted her off the couch. "You don't want me to leave, do you?"  
Rather than repeating her learned word, she snuggled against his chest. She'd got what she'd wanted, so it was unnecessary. 2D smiled at her, planting a soft kiss on her head.  
2D then carried Amber into the kitchen where his parents were eating. He was grinning widely.  
"Amber said her first word!" He exclaimed happily, his face lit up with excitement.  
Amber smiled, cuddling up against 2D. Her grandparents smiled happily.  
"Well, go on then," 2D said softly, "show 'em what you can do!"  
There was a pause, brief silence, but no response. Amber was fine in 2D's arms, and though the attention from everyone was pretty great, she didn't feel the need to say anything.  
2D's brows furrowed. She was staying quiet, but why? He could tell his parents were getting quite skeptical. "Look!"  
He set Amber down in her highchair and glanced at her, hoping his plan would work and she wouldn't make him look even more stupid than everyone thought him to be. He soon turned to walk away, which caused Amber to react.  
Upset, and mildly frustrated because of the unneeded repetition, Amber scowled. "No!"  
2D's parents both grinned at the frustrated tyke who was glaring at 2D pitifully.  
"No!" She repeated, whimpering slightly.  
2D chuckled, turning around to return to her. "I'm jus' teasin', love. I won't leave you." He lifted her out of her seat and held her close to him.  
He managed to hold her as he got himself a bowl of frosted flakes and wouldn't put her down as he ate.  


Amber giggled happily as she grabbed onto 2D's thumb. Her soft blue hair was stuck up in all different directions just like her father's, and her face was lit up with excitement. 2D smiled at her cheerfully. He was constantly fascinated by his child, the wonder was mutual between them whenever Amber discovered something new. It was amazing every time for the both of them.  
Her favorite thing was when he would sing to her. Whether it was as she was falling asleep, or when she was wide awake. No matter what time, what place. Her favorite was Ghost Train, but Slow Country was a close second. She loved most Gorillaz songs, really, but she had her preferences. And whenever he would sing, her face would light up with excitement. She loved him so much. And that feeling was definitely shared. It didn't take a genius to figure it out.

One rather backwards thing 2D did was use Amber to earn the attraction of local women. He took up a job at his father's funfair, working the register at some of the rides, and insisted on keeping the little girl with him as he worked. And for him, it was unintentionally brilliant. Because when he had Amber with him, for whatever reason it was like a magnet for all of the ladies visiting. They saw a cute baby, they went to the ride. They smiled at her, she giggled, it started a conversation and as the ladies got off the ride, there was a decent chance he'd get their numbers. With their numbers came the one night stands. The one night stands that would provide Amber with quite a few of her half-siblings. She had no clue that she was helping with that, and if she had known she wouldn't have stood for it. But the little girl just stayed with 2D and enjoyed the waves of attention from all of the women that were drawn in by her cuteness. Maybe one day she'd find out what he'd done. But 2D would keep that a secret as best as he could for as long as he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy belated birthday, Amber! This chapter would've been out sooner had I not been so busy last week!


	4. Post Phase One - 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would've been out for Amber's birthday had I not been so busy.

It was the most excited 2D had been in a while. September had arrived at last, nearly October. Amber's first birthday. Of course, his mum needed to remind him what day it was, but it didn't really matter. Truth be told, 2D was more excited than Amber was. Family was visiting for the party, there'd be color everywhere, and cake too. He'd take her out to a park to see all of the leaves, and he'd hold onto her and let her look out at all of the people.  
"It's your birthday, Amber," 2D said softly. "Today. Your gran invited some family over today. And there's gonna be cake and colors and presents. You'll love it."  
Amber let out a soft sigh at the sound of her father's voice. Her head rested against his chest gently and she blinked up at him. Her emerald eyes stared softly at him, and her messy hair was ruffled.  
"We'll need to give you a bath before tonight," he told her. "My girl must be the best on her very first birthday."  
Amber let out a small babble, and then smiled sweetly at him. 2D offered her a smile in response.

Bath time sped along in the blink of an eye. Amber happily sat on 2D's lap after she was all dried and dressed, waiting for guests to arrive. And arrive they did. Cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends of 2D's showed up within an hour. All of the attention was on Amber, and the little girl thrived in said spotlight. Which was good, as she was the daughter of a celebrity after all. She'd have her fair share of attention from people all across the globe, certainly. It was more than probable that she would love every ounce of it.  
2D set Amber down and went to get something, hoping one of her slightly older cousins would distract her. It didn't work.  
Amber whimpered, her lip quivered, and she sniffled. "Dada! No!"  
2D frowned slightly. "I'm just gonna be gone for a second. I'm gonna get your presents."  
She held out her arms and frowned. "Daaaaaaadaaa!" She wailed stubbornly.  
2D, suppressing a groan, picked her back up. He swung her around in the air, making her giggle, and then set her down on his lap. "Mum, could you get some of her presents for me? She's being fussy and I can't leave her here..."  
His mother did so, grabbing a few bags and setting them down on the ground by them. Amber was fairly distracted by the multi-colored tissue paper that had covered up the gifts. 2D tried to show off one of the little outfits that was given to her, a little shirt and skirt combination that was a nice light pink color, but she was more interested in the paper that was a few shades lighter than her messy, curly hair. But she did giggle when he pulled a brand new toy out of the same bag, something from a kids' TV show. Not her favorite, but that wasn't necessary to say.  
Gift after gift, toy after toy, Amber was distracted by thing after thing. Each new thing appeared and it was better than the next. And Amber loved every last second of her first birthday party. Especially the cake.

It was a mess, of course, a total mess. Giving a very little girl a cake and allowing her to do whatever she pleased with it is bound to lead to a mess. And definitely if the girl is the offspring of one of the clumsiest dullards out there.  
Amber wasn't too sure of what to do with the cake at first, or why they sang to her. Singing was the thing her dad did, not everyone else! Either way, once she got a taste of the frosting, she was absolutely delighted. She got a little bit on her hand and held it out for 2D to try. He smiled and lapped up a little, which made Amber let out a happy giggle. 2D smiled proudly at the blue haired baby in the highchair. She ate some of her food, but didn't end up finishing it as she ran out of appetite.  
"We really are going to have to give you a bath, aren't we?" He chuckled. Amber grinned at the sound of him laughing. She loved hearing it.  
She let out a tiny giggle. She was the center of the world, wasn't she?  
"Let's go," 2D murmured, swinging her up out of her high chair. As the night ended, everyone was sure that Amber was the happiest one-year-old out there.


	5. Post Phase One - 5

About half a year had passed. Amber knew more words than before. Some of them 2D had warned her not to say in front of her gran, thanks to Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and his own slight carelessness. But she was working on her English and being able to stand on her own, and her hair had grown out a bit more.  
2D, if he was bored or tired, would play with Amber's hair. He'd curl strands around his index finger in an absent minded way. She'd just rest her head on his chest sleepily, humming what she could remember of the songs she'd heard from him. She'd play with her favorite toy rabbit, making it hop around in time with the song she had on her mind, and he would just gently play with the soft blue hair.

"Dada? I'm hungry." This statement was confirmed by Amber's belly growling.  
"That sounds like a little tiger in your belly," 2D said softly. "What do you want to eat?"  
"Chicken soup, maybe?" She asked, blinking up at him.  
"Oh! That's easy," 2D said softly. "Let's go, then."  
He lifted her up into his arms. He tickled her, making her laugh loudly.  
"No! No!" She giggled, flailing in his arms. "Daaadaaaaa!"  
2D held her so she wouldn't fall. "Sorry, I can't help it. I just had to." Nuzzling her head, he smiled. "I'll stop."  
She eventually calmed down and frowned at 2D, sticking out her tongue. "Meanie."  
"I know, I know, I'm so mean," 2D chuckled. "I'm sorry, songbird."  
"It's okay, Dada," Amber murmured, resting her head on 2D's shoulder.  
He set her in the high chair and opened up a can of soup, pouring it into a pot and stirring. Amber hummed, tapping her fingers on her little tray as she waited, trying her hardest to be patient.  
After a few minutes of stirring, plus a few minutes of cooling, 2D was sat in front of her and scooping up some of the soup. "Open wide, songbird!"  
Amber opened her mouth and ate the bite. She could feed herself okay, but she was perfectly fine with her father doing the work instead. She grinned as she nibbled a bite of chicken and swung her legs cheerfully. "Springtime is pretty," she said through a bite.  
"Yeah," 2D agreed. "I was born at the end of Spring. In May."  
Amber nodded. "I know! Your birthday was fun. We got cake. It was yummy."  
"Mhm," 2D said with a smile. "Birthday cake is always yummy. Your next birthday is coming up too fast! You'll be two!"  
"Two?" Amber asked. "Really?"  
"Really," 2D confirmed with a nod, scooping another bite up and feeding it to her. "You'll have another party, and our whole family will come back again. You'll probably be able to eat more of the cake, too. It'll be even more fun since you'll know more words then, and you can wow everybody."  
Amber's wide, emerald green eyes sparkled with excitement. "I can't wait," she exclaimed through a bite of chicken soup.  
2D grinned brightly. He couldn't wait either. She was growing up so, so fast. Maybe too fast.


	6. Phase Two - 1

Around late June, things took a turn for better or worse. Amber knew a bit more, she was more energetic and better on her feet, and she was doing well when attempting to sing the way her father did. 2D thought she was a genius, a child prodigy, the best little girl to ever grace the face of the earth. He absolutely adored her, his perfect angel. His bluebird, his songbird, his everything. He'd give her everything if he could.  
This adoration would probably lead to him getting hurt later in life by a certain someone, but he didn't have any clue until a strange text message from an unknown number was sent to him one afternoon.  
It was just his name.  
Well, his nickname anyways. Just '2D' staring at him from the screen. So naturally he asked who it was, and how they got his number. He was worried at first that some crazy fan had somehow gotten their hands on his digits until he got a text back saying that it was Noodle. Apparently, the little Japanese girl he hadn't seen since 2002 had learned English (along with every other language out there) and was back at a now zombie-free Kong Studios with the drafts of an album and she wanted the band to get back together.  
It was an overwhelming flood of information for his tiny brain, yes, but as soon as he processed it he smiled brightly.  
"Am!" He exclaimed. "Someone from my band jus' contacted me!"  
Amber's tiny head shot up. "Who?"  
"Noodle," 2D said happily. "You know, she was the little kid who was really nice?"  
"Yes! Yes," Amber said, catching her father's contagious grin. "I can see her?"  
"I fink so," 2D murmured, feeling giddy as can be.  
His happiness was seemingly transferring to Amber, who held her stuffed rabbit with a cheerful grin. She was so excited to meet her father's band. She'd heard so much about the band, and she loved the music, so she couldn't help but feel really hyped up to meet them.

2D had agreed to meet up with Noodle a week from that text, with a 'huge surprise'. Amber, of course, was the huge surprise. She had her stuff packed up, with 2D's things, and she held her rabbit under one arm and 2D's hand with her free hand as they waited for a taxi. He sang to her in a gentle voice, tapping his foot impatiently.  
Soon enough, they saw a car pulling up and 2D shouted for it. It must've seemed really strange, seeing the two standing side by side. Thankfully, the man driving didn't mention anything about their hair or 2D's eyes or just about anything else. So 2D simply told him the address and they waited to arrive.  
Amber snuggled up against 2D very sleepily, resting on his lap. "Dada?"  
"Yes, baby girl?" 2D asked her softly.  
"I'm gonna nap," she murmured.  
"Okay, take a nap, lovely," 2D said softly.

Once the pair arrived, 2D carefully shook Amber awake. She yawned and blinked up at him.  
"We've arrived, love," 2D chirped.  
Amber sighed. "I'm still sleepy," she protested.  
"Well," 2D responded, "you can sleep more once we're settled in."  
Truthfully, Amber felt like she could just pass out any minute, no matter what. She hated that she had to walk beside 2D so he could carry the bags, because she wasn't all that great at walking and didn't want to look stupid or anything, but she powered through it anyways. For at least three minutes. Then she persuaded him to let her ride on his shoulders as he walked through the frighteningly empty graveyard and up the hill to Kong Studios. She slept, but 2D was so used to the journey that he could hardly feel the cramps in his legs. He rang the bell and waited for the door to open.  
Noodle was the one who greeted him. The first thing she noticed about 2D was the little kid on top of his head and shoulders. "2D?"  
"Oh, this is the surprise," 2D responded with a goofy grin. "Her name is Amber, and, if you couldn't tell, she's extremely sleepy at the moment."  
Noodle giggled and smiled up at the sleeping girl that 2D was carrying. "She's Lilac's?"  
2D froze. He hadn't thought about Lilac in a while. The pretty ginger girl who he'd truly met around 2000 or so. The sweet woman who everyone adored, even Murdoc. "Yeah, she's Lilac's."  
Noodle looked around behind him. "Where is she, then?"  
2D gulped. "Lilac, uh.... Lilac died a few hours after giving birth to Amber. Amber wasn't supposed to make it through the night."  
Noodle's face was one of shock, maybe terror. "Oh no. That's terrible, 2D. I'm so sorry."  
2D let out a long, drawn out sigh. "It's okay. It'll all be okay."  
Noodle moved to the side to let 2D in. He walked inside, set his bags down, and held Amber in his arms. Russel walked inside and grinned at the two people that were sat on the couch.  
"Russ!" 2D chirped with a large smile. "It's great to see you again!"  
Russel let out a sigh. "You too, man." He blinked. "What's with the kid?"  
"It's his and Lilac's," Noodle explained. "Lilac is-"  
"Dead," Russel finished. "Lilac is dead."  
The room was chillingly silent until Amber let out a loud yawn.  
"Dada?" Amber asked. "We there?"  
"Yes, love, we're here," 2D murmured. "And-"  
Something happened that nobody in the room was prepared for. The floors creaked and the door swung open. Then came a voice.  
"Who's that in your arm's, eh faceache?" The voice rasped, cutting 2D off. Exactly the voice of the person that had worried him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i got lazy and left this on a cliffhanger but it needed some suspense sorry lol


	7. Phase Two - 2

Amber hadn't really expected Murdoc Niccals to be one of the first people she would see when she first woke up from her nap. An old, middle-aged green man was actually the very last thing she would've expected or wanted to see. Just the way he stood and stared at her was menacing and terrifying, and she grabbed at 2D's shirt fearfully. 2D kept a protective hold on her, glaring up at Murdoc.  
"She's my daughter," he said stiffly.  
"How old?" Murdoc asked, stepping closer to them. Amber pressed herself closer to 2D, sensing a possible threat.  
"18 months," 2D responded cautiously. Both he and his daughter were eyeing him anxiously.  
"18 months! Rather small for 18 months, isn't she?" He asked, chuckling and getting even closer. "What's your name, love?"  
The only thing Amber could really think of at that moment was that his breath smelled awful, and that he was even more gross looking up close. No matter what she was really thinking, she just let out a whimper and clung to her father.  
"Come on, now, don't be so shy," Murdoc sneered. "Tell me your name, kid."  
"Amber," the little girl whispered nervously. "Amber Grace."  
"You look a lot like faceache's old girlfriend, Lilac. Must be her's. Lovely bird, she was. A great shag," Murdoc rambled, grunting slightly.  
2D grit his teeth, but before he could speak, Russel began talking. "Don't start, Mudz, and get out of the poor kid's face, man, she looks terrified."  
Murdoc rolled his eyes and backed away. Amber's body relaxed once he did. She let out a soft sigh, her grip on 2D's shirt weakening. He rubbed her back soothingly, kissing the top of her head in a reassuring way.  
Amber let out a soft exhale, nuzzling against 2D's arm. He couldn't help but grin as she moved close to him. He could only see perfection in his daughter. Such high hopes he had for her.

A good three months passed. Amber already was getting adjusted to living in Kong. Since Noodle was older, she could take care of Amber while the others were busy. Amber personally loved spending time with her. Sometimes, if she was good, Noodle would allow her to borrow the GameBoy and she'd teach her how to play Pokemon. Noodle had taught her a few words in Japanese while they were bored. And Amber was the first person who heard about the new album that Noodle had been working on, and she'd promised to not talk about it much until Noodle was ready for the details to be out.  
Once, when 2D had been told to take Noodle and Amber to get groceries since it was his turn to go shopping and Noodle volunteered to go with them, Noodle taught Amber how to get as much candy as she wanted from 2D. Basically just by getting the candy, taking it, and putting it into the cart. If 2D questioned either of them, they'd do the whole puppy-dog eyes shtick. He couldn't possibly say no to them, so he bought any of the candy that they wanted.  
Amber decided on that day that Noodle was a genius. An absolute genius.  
2D was super happy that Amber was getting along with Noodle, as he had been worried that Noodle would be jealous of the divided attention. Then again, she was older and more mature about things, and adored Amber much like how 2D did. They were very close, and Amber always wanted to be spending time with her.

Amber hated nothing more than when her dad was busy with band stuff. She had to sit and play with her toys all alone, and she still got upset whenever he even headed toward the door without her. She could speak even better than before, and graduated from 'dada' to 'daddy', and she would occasionally mumble to her favorite rabbit, who she had dubbed Hopps, and tell him all about how her father was busy doing his boring band stuff all of the time and how much she hated it.  
One time, 2D was coming back to his room after a particularly long night of working on the new album. He heard Amber talking loudly to something, presumably the TV. He'd laid her down for a nap before he went to go and had the TV volume quiet so she'd have a makeshift nightlight after he'd flicked the switch to dim the room. She must've woken up and turned up the volume so she could hear whatever was on, and was getting into it. He opened the door to find his little girl watching Friday the 13th, an arm around her rabbit and eyes glued to the screen.  
"I told you not to go in there, lady!" Amber exclaimed, pouting at the TV. "Now you're dead!"  
"What are you watching?" 2D asked her softly, quietly laughing.  
"I dunno," Amber said, shrugging. "But that lady's a dummy."  
"Yeah," 2D snickered, moving the blanket aside so he could sit with her. "This is a good movie."  
"It really is, daddy," Amber said softly, head resting against him. Suddenly, she looked up at him. "I'm hungry."  
Scooping her into his arms, 2D sighed. "I guess I'll have to feed you, in that case," he murmured with a little chuckle.


	8. Phase Two - 3

Amber's second birthday was the same as the last, basically. She'd persuaded Noodle to come, so that had made it slightly different. But that was the only real difference. Birthdays were over-hyped, Amber had decided. What was more important to her was Christmas. That would mean she'd been with her father two whole years. Who cares about how long they've been alive for when they could celebrate how long they've been with the person most important to them? Like a wedding anniversary but non-romantic and between family rather than lovers. Not too hard to wrap the mind around.  
Anyhow, the coming of the New Year was the most exciting thing of all. 2005 was an impressive thing to her. Everything kept getting better and better. Though, Noodle did take Amber to go to bed before the year changed. She wasn't sure why. It might've had something to do with him drinking a lot of the liquid in the strange bottles that made him act funny. Alcohol was what Noodle called it. Amber knew that Noodle was smart, so that was probably what the name was. Noodle said that her father would be acting funny for the rest of the night, so it would be better if they watched TV in her room away from him. She even promised to let her play on the GameBoy.  
At midnight, Noodle gave Amber a motherly kiss on the cheek once midnight struck. Soon enough, Amber fell asleep.

February 22nd, 2005.  
That may seem like an unimportant date, but for Amber it wasn't. See, 2D had been talking with Russel about Amber's recent doctor's visit. He was explaining that Amber had an allergy to peanuts and tree nuts. Murdoc had happened to overhear that, but only part of it. He didn't like Amber all that much. She was annoying, and one time she bit his hand. So he decided that maybe if she had a little allergic reaction, he wouldn't have to deal with her at Kong anymore.  
Unfortunately, he didn't hear 2D tell Russel that if she ate any nut products, she could die.  
Amber didn't really know that she had the allergy, or that nuts could kill her, so she was a rather easy target. As she was finishing up her Happy Meal, and 2D was using the bathroom a little ways off, Murdoc approached her.  
"Hey, kid, I've got something for you," Murdoc said, holding his hands behind his back.  
Amber eyed him suspiciously, taking a sip of her milk. "Um.. I don't want it."  
Murdoc scowled, but then forced a chuckle. "Come on, look." He held up a decent sized cookie wrapped in packaging. "I've got this just for you."  
Her face lit up slightly, despite her nervousness. "Really? For me?"  
"Of course," Murdoc said smoothly, setting the cookie on the tray of her high-chair.  
The package said the type of cookie it was, but Amber only understood that it said cookie. She fumbled with the clear wrapping and sunk her teeth into it.  
"Erm, thanks," she said through a mouthful of cookie.  
Murdoc tossed out the packaging with a malicious smirk. "Of course, love." With that, he walked down the hall away from the kitchen.  
Amber ate the cookie with haste, worrying her dad would be upset with her eating it. How long had he been gone? Less than a minute. He was using the bathroom and then had a phone call to make, so she knew he would be few minutes. She could never be too safe.  
By the time 2D was back, she was already feeling pretty rough and looking like it too. She was having some trouble breathing and her lips appeared a bit swollen. He got a bit anxious by that. Upon seeing the unusual crumbs on her tray, he approached her.  
"What are these from?" 2D asked her.  
Her breathing was becoming a bit quicker, and shallower too. "A cookie..."  
"Who gave you the cookie?" 2D asked, eyes narrowing.  
Noodle happened to walk past but stopped to listen.  
"Murdoc did," Amber mumbled.  
2D glanced in the trash can and his eyes widened at the sight of the packaging with the intact label. He grabbed it, read it, and let out a quiet stream of curses under his breath. He checked his pockets and his face paled when he couldn't find the medication that would stop her from getting too hurt. "Noodle, call 999," he said. He felt like was overreacting, but he wasn't going to search for the medication and risk her getting seriously hurt or worse.  
"Allergic?" Noodle guessed, fumbling for her phone.  
"Horribly," 2D mumbled, running a hand through his hair. "Let's get her outside, and you can call."  
That date marked the first time Amber had a mildly chaotic experience due to Murdoc Niccals. Of course, she was fine eventually, and Murdoc actually kind of felt bad for almost killing the little girl because it wasn't what he had meant to do. Safe to say, Amber and Murdoc were never around each other without another person in the room.

Probably the best thing that could happen to Amber that year was her friendship with Russel. He had started helping her with reading, and it made her very happy to be able to learn. Her favorite thing to read with him was 'The Cat in the Hat'. Because he was patient with her and helped her with the hard words, and because she thought he was nice and funny, she called him her best friend. He would sit her next to him, point out words on the pages, and ask her what it said. Sometimes she needed help, but he'd help her. If she ever didn't know a word, he would say the word and have her repeat it with him so she could learn how to say it. It was help that 2D never offered, so she appreciated it immensely.  
One day, Amber and 2D were sitting together watching movies in 2D's room. She was making her stuffed rabbit bounce around in her lap and giggling quietly to herself. Suddenly, she looked up at her father.  
"Daddy?" She asked sweetly.  
"Yes, songbird?" 2D asked her, curling a strand of hair around one of his fingers.  
"What do you do if you really like someone?" Amber asked, a tiny smile growing on her face. "Like really, really like someone?"  
2D thought for a moment. Chuckling, he told her, "You give them a ring."  
"Oh," Amber said. She pondered that statement for a moment before flashing a wide grin at 2D. "Thanks!"  
"Don't mention it," he snorted, gently stroking her hair. "Now, I think it's time for a nap. Don't you?"  
"Sure," Amber murmured. As she drifted off to sleep, she thought about her little plan.  
After she woke up from her nap, she went straight to Noodle because she knew that she had a candy supply that contained candies that were supposed to be rings. After she retrieved the candy from Noodle, she hurried off to find Russel. She was a woman on a mission.  
Rabbit in hand and ring pop in the other, she raced toward the lounge where she was sure to find the man she was in search of. It was a bit hard to run in the dress 2D had put her in, but she managed, and at last she found him.  
"Russ!" She exclaimed happily. "I was looking for you!"  
Standing up, he grinned at her. "What's up, Amber? I heard that you went to take a nap. How was it?"  
Another big thing she liked about hanging out with him. He didn't treat her like a little kid all of the time.  
"It was good, thanks," Amber chirped. Cheerfully, she held out the candy ring. "My daddy says if you like someone you should give them a ring. You're my bestest friend, so I got you a ring."  
Russel let out a little chuckle, taking the ring from her outstretched hand, slipping it on his finger. "Thank you, Amber, that's so sweet of you." He ruffled her already messy hair and smiled.  
She giggled, more than glad that he liked it. She was practically beaming.  
Russel tasted the lollipop part and grinned at her. "It tastes good too."  
She was so happy, she couldn't even believe it. It was the sweetest thing Russel had seen in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is kinda mediocre but i'm happy about it and ready to make progress!! hope you guys like the updates that I've been published lately!!


	9. Phase Two - 4

Amber was growing more apprehensive of Kong Studios by the day. At first, she had trusted her father as he told her over and over while packing that she had nothing to fear, but she was starting to not believe him. The occasional zombie would be found groaning at the door now and again, and she couldn't help being frightened by the thought of Murdoc Niccals prowling the halls. Movies didn't scare her, but they were all fake. Fake blood, fake pain, fake death. Everything she was encountering was reality. Reality was more than scary for her.  
She knew that Murdoc had hurt her father before. More times than she knew the number of. One time she'd nervously peeked around the corner of a hall after hearing the shouting to find Noodle crouched beside 2D, who was slumped over on the couch, feeding him a few pain pills and bandaging his bruised and bleeding face. It was horrifying, seeing him there in the daze.  
She'd hurried to Noodle's room with her rabbit in her arms and burrowed under the covers of the teen's bed. She pretended that she was asleep once Noodle came to the room. Noodle sighed, figuring that Amber had heard 2D and Murdoc fighting and she just found a place to hide. Noodle rested beside her, drifting off. Soon, a fearful Amber did as well.  
The more she thought about it, Murdoc was always getting into fights with everyone. He even got into a shouting, door-slamming argument with Noodle, who seemed to be even more on edge lately as the year went on. Amber could hear her voice approaching the voice a person gets when they're near tears.  
Anyhow, her outlook on life was looking rather bleak at that point.

The only exciting thing that had been happening was that Amber heard that her father's band was going on tour. She didn't really now what that meant, but since 2D seemed excited about it then Amber was too. She was all prepared with her favorite toys and things. She was wearing one of 2D's sweatshirts as a dress with converse for toddlers paired with it. It was more comfortable than other things 2D had dressed her in. Though, the braids that fell down her front tied in light purple ribbons are slightly uncomfortable. She didn't care. If it made her father happy, she'd put up with it.  
A secret she refused to tell anyone was something Murdoc had told her when Noodle was just out of earshot, when she'd gone to get Amber a quick snack.  
In a low voice, he had asked her, "Want to hear a secret?"  
"No," Amber responded quickly, going to scoot away.  
"Come on, don't be shy," Murdoc said. "I won't feed you anything toxic." He let out a raspy laugh, that made Amber wince. "Fine," the tiny blue haired girl murmured. "Just hurry, okay?"  
Murdoc let out a little chuckle. "I knew you'd come around. Now listen, okay? Your father's got a lot of other kids. You've got a lot of siblings."  
".....Oh," Amber said, blinking. "Why haven't I met them?"  
"Because he's infatuated with you at the moment," Murdoc said dryly. "But just listen. If you're too much of a brat about things, he could get rid of you at any time. He could just replace you with another kid."  
"What?" Amber asked, a sudden wave of fear rushing through her. Would 2D not want her? "What do you mean?"  
"I mean, he could just swap you out with any kid if you're too fussy. If you complain about the dresses or the way he does your hair, there'll be more chances that he won't want you anymore," Murdoc said, a sinister grin growing on his face.  
"That's not possible," Amber whispered fearfully. "It can't be."  
"Oh, it is," Murdoc said with a nod. "So just don't complain. I certainly don't want to hear it, and surely after enough of hearing it, your father won't want to either."  
"...Oh, okay," Amber mumbled quietly. "Alright."  
The conversation was over when Noodle returned with some popcorn and a movie.  
Amber recalled the moment, holding one of her carefully done braids in her hand. She shivered nervously at the thought of 2D not caring anymore. She was thinking of trying to remove the ribbons, but she didn't want anyone getting angry or upset by her actions. So she glanced at her bags and took a deep breath. She was ready to go.

The whole tour thing was more interesting than Amber had expected. Lots of music and color and commotion. 2D took her on stage once or twice, and it was all so big and strange but nice all at once. Her father kept drinking that strange liquid that made him act weird, that nasty alcohol stuff. Noodle kept separating Amber from him. She didn't know why. Or why 2D kept telling her that he'd come back and get her after the shows, but never really came back until the next morning. Noodle was always pretty ticked of when she'd see him, looking like a mess, when the band would regroup.  
Now, in reality, 2D was bringing even more of Amber's siblings into the world. Noodle had come up with an excuse, telling her that he was just eating the stuff that could hurt her and didn't want to come into contact with her while he was eating it. Amber deemed the excuse reasonable enough, because obviously 2D would never want to hurt her. But she must've really been missing out of the food she was allergic to was so good that 2D had to sneak away to eat it every night after the shows. Extra time with Noodle was nothing she'd complain about though. All of the loud noise hurt her head, so some nice quiet time in a room with dimmed lights, maybe a pokemon battle on the GameBoy, were all she could hope for from a night. Sometimes, Noodle would sing Dare to Amber, and the little girl would do her best Shaun Ryder impression when the time was right. They would both laugh super hard. Some of the time that Amber spent with Noodle was some of the best time ever.  
Noodle was one of the only people besides 2D that Amber was okay with singing to her. Noodle could easily relax Amber's nerves after a tense day of toddler things. Toddler things being wondering what the band was up to, and the latest drama between her stuffed animals. According to Amber, her stuffed animals had the most interesting of drama, such as her furby named Sock not being friends with her favorite rabbit Hopps.

She was getting older, that was for certain. Along with Gorillaz, she was getting older. Three had come up fast, and four was quick approaching as well. The world was spinning too fast, you could say. She'd learned some more numbers, more of how to read, and she was very happy with herself. 2D and Noodle and Russel were all happy with her as well. Things were good, nothing but good at that point.  
If only that hadn't had to change.


	10. Phase Two - 5

Hell.  
Amber didn't know the meaning of the word, but she knew it sounded bad. Evil, scary, menacing, and any other word that she could also use to describe how she saw Murdoc.  
She'd heard the word Hell amidst Murdoc's rambling, and so she figured it was good enough to describe the situation they were in.  
Kong looked, and felt, like it could cave in any day. A ceiling tile had nearly fallen on 2D's head while he was trying to use the toilet, and when Murdoc had been walking down the hall his foot fell through the floor. The most noticeable damage was in Noodle's bedroom, but there were additional things to the damage.  
Walls were cracked and there was some dust piled up on the floor in certain places, which wouldn't have been as noticeable if everything wasn't in the big brown boxes, which the quantity of had doubled. Everything that reminded Amber of the days she'd spent in Noodle's room had been either stuffed into those or tossed in the bin because Noodle had outgrown them or they had been broken.  
Amber could tell she was leaving. Was it because of the damage? Probably not, from what her father had said, Kong had always been in a pretty bad condition. So what was it?  
She thought back to what Murdoc had told her about 2D, how he could easily get tired of her and replace her if she wasn't good. Was Noodle tired of her? Surely not, she was always on her best behavior around Noodle, and Noodle adored her. So what could it be? Was she sick of Murdoc's incessant yelling? Or maybe tired of band stuff? Amber wasn't sure, but she didn't like thinking about it. It made her feel queasy.

One day, while Noodle was clicking away through pages of MySpace, which they used to catfish people for entertainment when Murdoc and 2D were having their shouting fights and Russel was breaking said fights up, and a site that had introduced Amber to bands like Fall Out Boy, Noodle had finally noticed something was off about Amber.  
"What's wrong?" She asked her softly. "Something on your mind, hm?"  
"No," Amber said, shaking her head and clicking the mouse to play one of the songs.  
Noodle bit her own lip slightly, feeling a little frustrated that Amber was avoiding the question. She paused the song and sank down to Amber's level, which made her eyes flick away, down to the stuffed rabbit poised in her lap.  
"Am," Noodle began, her accented voice gentle, "You can tell me anything, okay?"  
"Well, I know that already," Amber said, "But I've got nothing to tell."  
Noodle couldn't tell if her lack of proper eye contact was because of the lying or something else, but she wouldn't call her out on that.  
"It doesn't seem like that," Noodle said. "Just tell me what's wrong, love."  
Amber didn't want to say. Because to say it out loud was practically to admit that it was real and happening. Maybe if she just kept her feelings in her head, it would never happen. But Noodle looked so genuinely concerned that she could hardly keep it in.  
"You're gonna leave," Amber mumbled. "Is it because I'm bad?"  
Noodle's face was hard to read, but soon she was letting out a little giggle. "Of course it's not because you're bad, Amber," Noodle said, a grin on her face. "I just want to work on other things that I can't work on while I'm here with the band."  
The wave of relief that swept over Amber nearly knocked her over.  
"So I'm not bad?" She asked in a soft voice.  
"Of course not," Noodle reassured her, smoothing out her hair with a hand. "You're amazing."  
Amber smiled at that reassurance. "Well, I'm gonna miss you when you're gone," she murmured, sitting close to the teen.  
"How about this," Noodle began. "You can keep my GameBoy and the pokemon games so you don't have to miss me, like there's a piece of me with you all of the time. Deal?"  
Amber's eyes widened in slight shock. "You're really gonna give me that? But it's like- It's your favorite!"  
"Yours too," Noodle reminded her, setting the much smaller box with the handheld console and the games beside them on the mattress. "And I've been teaching you to read all of the text in it, so soon you'll be able to understand it all. I'm not leaving just yet. We still have a few months to help you get a basic understanding."  
Amber's smile widened. Once she got into school, whenever that was, she'd surely be the smartest kid there. She knew how to read a bit, thanks to Russel, and she was learning Japanese from Noodle, and French from her father. She even knew how to do some basic maths, stuff like two plus two and two minus one. She could sing and dance, and 2D had even been considering starting teaching her piano early. Yes, she'd be the absolute brightest. She'd make everyone proud.

Amber had spent the last few months with Noodle, not at all prepared for what was to come. Noodle had taught her a shocking amount of Japanese in those few months, and both girls were very happy. Noodle seemed more apprehensive as time went on, though, and things kept changing. Every time Amber looked at the broken clock that laid useless on the floor seemed to look different. But one day, everything changed.  
They were filming for El Mañana. That's what everyone had told her anyways. Noodle was up on the windmill island, and 2D, Russel, and Murdoc were all waiting, watching. Murdoc seemed anxious almost. However, he spoke nonchalantly, telling her to listen to the radio in case anything happened, though he acted as though he didn't believe anything would. So, Amber waited.  
Loud noises were coming from outside, and 2D and Russel had ran outside to see what was wrong. Murdoc just watched from the window, face blank. Amber felt very nervous, of course, because the loud noises were startling her and she knew that Noodle was up there. Something worse happened though.  
There were a few bits and pieces that she couldn't understand, but she knew that she could hear Noodle yelling from the radio.  
"Murdoc! Murdoc!" Noodle shouted. "Can you hear me?"  
Amber ran over to Murdoc and grabbed him hard by the wrist.  
"What in the bloody hell-?" Murdoc grumbled.  
Amber tugged on his arm, running and leading him back with her to the radio. "There's something wrong," she snapped, pointing to the radio. "Listen!"  
"Er, you need to get them out," Noodle mumbled. Static cut off what she said next, but after the static her voice was louder and more panicked. "Mayday! MAYDAY! You need to-" More static. "The demon boy! It's the demon boy! You must get out!"  
Murdoc's face contorted, confused, and Amber looked on fearfully.  
"Hurry! MAYDAY!" Noodle repeated loudly. "The building, it's coming apart! It's right beneath the building!"  
Something must've been wrong up there, and Noodle must've known about something wrong down there too.  
"You have to get out," She warned them, but she soon picked back up. "Murdoc, you have to get the combination!" She shouted. A Japanese word, followed by a repeated "COMBINATION!"  
"We've got to get her down," Murdoc suddenly mumbled. "I need to discuss this with her, we've got to get her down."  
But it was too late, it seemed, and that was signaled by a loud crash.

Amber ran out as fast as she could, before Murdoc could stop her and before 2D or Russel could realize she'd ran out there. The windmill island had crashed to the ground, ridden with bullet holes and flaming. She felt pressure at the back of her throat, and her stomach felt like it was going to explode. She nearly did throw up, but she bit her lip and held it down. Noodle had been in there. She was trying to get them to help her. But they couldn't do it in time. And, well, she wasn't sure if Noodle had parachuted away, but she couldn't help but feel that she was still trapped down there. Her father had screamed, and Russel had, in disbelief, fainted in the lounge. He'd be up soon, hopefully.  
Amber's messy hair blew in the wind as she looked hopelessly at the rubble. So she raised her voice and shouted.  
"Noodle!" Amber shrieked. Her face was pale, and tears streamed down her cheeks.  
2D lifted her up so her arms were around his neck and her head on his shoulder as she sobbed. She had expected him to try telling her that she needn't cry, but he said nothing. He simply echoed her shout.  
"Noodle!" He cried out. "Can you hear me? Are you still in there?"

2D had lost hope after a half an hour of searching and calling to no avail. But Amber kept shouting even after 2D had stopped, no matter how useless it was. She only stopped when he firmly told her to, and called attention to the aching in her throat that she must've been ignoring as she desperately hoped that Noodle would just hear her.  
"How about this, baby doll?" 2D suggested. "I'll make you some warm milk, with honey and cinnamon just like you like it, and you can get some rest. It'll help your throat and calm you down. Sound good, my love?"  
Amber weakly nodded, face damp with tears still, and feeling more sick and dizzy than before. 2D rubbed her back as he got her situated in his bed, with her stuffed rabbit in her arms and the GameBoy back in its little cardboard box. He then quickly fixed her the milk, with a bit of medication dissolved in it to make her sleep more soundly, and brought it back in a brightly colored sippy cup. He waited for her to finish, and not long after, she fell asleep.  
It was just how 2D had planned it. Of course, he didn't have any bad intentions, he just needed her asleep. Because as he turned on the water for the shower and stepped inside, tears cascaded down his cheeks and sobs exited his throat. He couldn't help crying. He'd been so anxious all day and seeing Amber so sad had made his mental state nearly worse. So he let it all out as he tried to scrub himself clean of all of the bad feelings that he'd been holding back almost all day long.  
As he cried, he was glad he'd given Amber the pill in her drink. So she wouldn't have to hear his distressed sobs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok, so in this, el manana wasn't entirely staged. noodle realized how terrifying and dangerous it was, but it was too late. she made the distress call, but when she realized there was nothing that anyone could do she parachuted off before she met her doom. nobody but murdoc and noodle had known of the plan anyways, so that was why 2d allowed amber to yell for noodle and even joined her, and sobbed like he did. because he didn't know it was staged. so there's a little explanation.  
> also it's kinda like,, different from how it actually is in the gorillaz canon but it's for the story lol


	11. Post Phase Two - 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> putting some lilac lore into this bc i've been wanting to for a while. warning: his chapter includes themes like death and childbirth

Amber didn't know how long it had been. She just knew that when she'd woken up, she'd nearly gotten sick. 2D had cradled her, murmured little things to her, and stroked her hair. It felt like forever ago. She knew it hadn't been. They'd just moved to a flat somewhere, and her father told her that he was going to law school. She wasn't sure what it was, but she was happy that he was happy. They'd adopted an old cat from a shelter, who was surprisingly sweet. Her name was Misty, she was partially blind, and when 2D was passed out from staying up too late or from whatever he was doing the night before, she would nuzzle up against Amber, as if to keep her company. And Amber didn't mind. The old cat was wonderful company indeed.  
Amber recalled the day they'd gotten her happily, yawning as she stroked Misty's soft fur. She also remembered the times that she'd hissed at 2D for yelling at Amber, though that might've just been because he'd startled her. She didn't care. They were friends and that's all that mattered.

Once, when Amber was cheerfully coloring on a sheet, making a llama a lovely color of purple mountain majesty, when 2D slid beside her on the couch.  
"How are you, songbird?" He asked in a soft voice, peering over her shoulder and examining the picture she was coloring in.  
"Good," she chirped happily. "The llama is magical!"  
"I see," 2D agreed, nodding, a smile growing wide on his face. "What's it's name?"  
"Hm..." Amber mumbled, brows furrowing. "Andy."  
"Andy?" 2D asked, head tilting curiously. He thought for a moment, then he grinned. "I like that name for him. Suits him well."  
Amber grew a bit more cheerful at the praise. "Yeah. Yeah it does."  
2D paused for a moment, sniffing. "When's the last time you've had a bath?"  
Amber froze. It wasn't that she didn't like baths, no, she loved a nice warm bath every now and again. She just didn't want to take one, she was too busy filling in her llama and watching horror movies that her grandmother would both shout at her for watching and shout at her father for allowing her to watch.  
"I dunno," she said, shrugging, which was a lie. "Not too long ago. Two days, maybe?" Another lie.  
2D glanced at her skeptically. "I fink you're a bit too smelly for that," he murmured. "Come on... Let's get you some fuzzy pyjamas and a nice warm bath, okay? I'll even tell you a story to pass the time."  
Amber sighed, lifting up her arms so 2D could scoop her up. He did, grinning, and rested her on the tiles of the bathroom to get the bath started. Once the water was warm, but not too warm, he finally hoisted her into the bubbly water. Amber seemed a little less upset about having to be in the tub when she saw all of the sweet smelling bubbles. 2D ruffled her hair and handed her a little rubber duck to play with as he massaged some shampoo into her hair..  
"You said you'd tell me a story," Amber suddenly.  
2D nodded. "That I did, songbird," he mused, chuckling slightly when Amber allowed bubbles to accumulate on her face as if she had a beard. "So what do you want to hear about?"  
Amber thought for a moment, then she looked up at him with her curious, emerald green eyes. "Can you.. Can you tell me about mum?"  
2D paused for a moment, not quite knowing how to respond. Was Amber ready to hear about Lilac? Or was he just not ready to tell her? He wasn't sure, but he had indeed promised he'd tell her a story, and she really looked like she wanted to know. So he took a deep breath and started talking as he got her clean.  
"Her name was Lilac, Lilac Bates," 2D told her, a little smile growing on his face as he thought about the little girl's mother. "She had pretty strawberry blonde hair that was curly, a little like yours, and she had freckles like those," he paused, just to tap a few of the little freckles that made constellations across her cheeks and nose, and continued, "and the greenest eyes I've ever seen, besides yours, of course. She was so, so sweet. Nobody in the band could help but like her, even Murdoc."  
Amber grinned, watching his face intently and hoping he'd go on. "Oh?"  
2D nodded, and he couldn't help but share her little grin. "Yeah, she was amazing with Noodle, she could calm down Russel, she could get Murdoc to leave me alone, and when she was still around she made me the happiest man that I could be." The look on his face changed to a wistful one. "If only she could be here now. She would've loved you so much, Amber, more than anything in the world."  
"Why can't she?" Amber asked, looking puzzled. "Why can't she be here with us?"  
2D winced slightly. "She... You probably won't understand this completely, but when she had you, she didn't make it out alive." 2D chose to not speak about how she might've died because 2D had decided to break things off, presumably, a week before she'd taken the test and discovered she was having Amber, and that she didn't know how she'd be able to support the little girl had 2D forgotten about her. Which he had. And he knew right then as he explained what happened to Lilac that he'd never forgive himself for not being with her, for forgetting her, for cutting her off from him completely.  
"Woah," Amber murmured. She couldn't really comprehend it, but she knew from the sound of his voice that it wasn't anything good. She did know that when you stopped being alive, you couldn't come back. Dead, death, whatever it was called. She just knew it was awful. And her mum would never be back.  
"Yeah," 2D murmured, washing the shampoo out of her long, silky blue hair. Finally, he pulled her out of the water as it drained and dried her off. She grinned as 2D helped her into her soft, cozy pyjamas. "Let's get you into bed so you can take a nap."  
Amber felt a lot more relaxed after the little story about her mum and the nice bath. She cuddled up in 2D's arms when he lifted her up to take her to the cozy bed. He sat down beside her, as though to tuck her in, but simply snuggled up in the bed there next to her and fell asleep along with her.

Most of what 2D had told Amber was spot on, but there was quite a bit that he hadn't told her as well. Lilac was just about everything he said; everyone had indeed adored her, and he'd been smitten the moment he'd seen her, because god she was so pretty to him. With her tomboyishly short curly hair and the freckles that covered her face along with other places all over her. Lilac, with her captivating green eyes and that smile that made his heart explode and a laugh that made him almost dizzy.  
Everything about her, from day one, had 2D entranced, whether it was the way she dressed or the way her eyes would light up when talking about anything that she was passionate about.  
2D had met her when he had taken Noodle out to the park. She was 18, he was 22, and they'd only really started talking there because first of all, 2D could hardly comprehend how stunning she was, and because Noodle had hit it off pretty well with Lilac's little brother, Maxx, who didn't even care that neither of the two of them could really understand each other.  
"You adopted her, then?" Lilac had asked softly as the two kids swung on the swingset, laughing happily. "Or is she yours?"  
2D was simply shocked that she was just pursuing conversation without being shocked by his blackened eyes or his messy blue hair. "Well, kind of adopted, yeah. It's a long story, but she showed up on my band's doorstep and they couldn't find anyone willing to claim her, so we got the custody I suppose. How about him?" He pointed slightly to Maxx. "He yours?"  
Lilac was overcome with a sudden fit of adorable giggles. "Oh, heavens no," she said with a tiny snort due to how hard she'd been laughing. "No, he's my little brother. Mum sent me out here so we could both get some fresh air. I just turned 18 a few months ago, graduated from secondary school too, and I'm seriously hoping I can find somewhere better to live."  
"Oh, okay," 2D said nodding. "I turned 22 back in May." He paused. "It's September, right?"  
"Yeah," Lilac confirmed with a little nod. "So you're in a band, huh? Sounds interesting."  
The conversation went on, and it went better than he'd been expecting. Lilac had given him her digits after they'd exchanged names and talked more, for over an hour until the kids got tired of playing around on the colorful playground equipment. That was in September of 2000. It moved along rather fast, because their first kiss was midnight on the first day of 2001. 2D knew things were going fast, but he didn't mind. He loved every second they spent together, which was a lot. And, it wasn't until she moved in around February that he found that thing that made her eyes light up with joy. Photography. Mainly artsy stuff, but it appeared that 2D was her muse as she was always snapping photos of him or taking pictures of the both of them together, hurriedly shaking the photo that the camera printed so it would develop, then writing little notes on them to document the event.  
Everything had been going great, so Lilac thought. But in a simple conversation, sat in the cinema at Kong watching a zombie movie, in January of 2002, a year after their first kiss, 2D had broken up with her. A simple few words, some rubbish about protecting her from Murdoc, and how he'd get back with her when the band was split up, because he had a feeling that it could happen at any time. She, forcing back anything she could feel rising up within her, she'd said it was fine and she'd get her stuff out soon, though he had given her the tine to stay until she could move out.  
Lilac's parents had never liked 2D, so it was terrible when she'd taken a pregnancy test and it came back positive and she knew she had to tell them. She'd also need to tell them that 2D had, for no truly good reason, kicked her out. When she did, they kicked her out as well, but way more harsh than 2D could've even imagined being towards her.  
Some of the things Lilac had done during the first month weren't anything to be proud of, such as making out with Murdoc because he claimed to have caught 2D doing the same thing with another girl besides her while they were together, whether that had been true or not.  
The labor was extremely difficult and stressful for her, all alone and in horrible pain. But once Amber was out, before Lilac's eyes completely shut, Lilac cradled the baby girl and her arms and sang to her to try to get her to not cry, since the sound of the newborn crying like she was in pain broke her heart.

The nurses had told 2D that as Lilac sang the last verse, uttered her last breath, that Amber's tiny self fell silent, her crying ending like nothing. At first, they thought she'd really been in pain, and both girls had been dying, and Amber was crying so hard because it hurt. But it stopped the second Lilac flatlined. So whether it be that Amber was just Lilac reborn, and she was sobbing because her soul was transferring to the infant's body, or that she was stopping to mourn, to see if Lilac was still alive, or because Lilac's spirit had helped soothe her better than her human form could, was a mystery.  
A mystery that, due to Amber's curiosity, plagued 2D's nightmares during his afternoon nap that he shared with Amber.


	12. Post Phase Two - 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another heccin holiday filler feat. nightmares  
> also i think 2d went to oxford university for his law degree so?? they live around there

Amber had been living with her father in Oxford for a while, since 2D had needed to pursue his law degree. They were living in a nice apartment, with a nice cat and a rather nice life. For Amber's fifth birthday, 2D had gotten her a bicycle. He'd spent almost all day teaching her how to ride it, and once she was finished he'd taken her to whatever restaurant she'd chosen and got her dessert off the menu as well. Of course, she'd gotten new outfits since she'd started school around that time, and some for home and winter as well. He'd also bought her a game for the GameBoy that Noodle had lent her, and some CDs as well. But the most important thing was the bike.  
It was a nice bike, with a silvery design and a horn and bell. It had a little basket on the front for her to carry any things she'd like in it. Once she'd gotten the hang of it, she'd allowed Misty to go for a ride in the basket. They'd both had fun.  
Amber loved autumn more than any other season. She'd been born in autumn, and it was always the most fun season, with Halloween and the falling leaves and the amazing scents and foods. She liked crunching the leaves beneath her sneakers. And when 2D would pick her up on his shoulders so she could look around above everyone else. Birthdays, she decided, were more fun for kids when they weren't three.

Holidays in the little apartment were more fun as well. 2D could decorate as much as he pleased because of the fact that there was less space that needed to be decorated. Fairy lights strung up on the walls and the tree in the lounge, baubles hung on the branches along with tinsel and little candy canes. 2D admired his handiwork as Amber rested against him, eyes fixated on the screen of the television that displayed a movie about a skeleton from a town that represented Halloween who wanted to bring the spirit of Christmas. It was a Tim Burton film or something, so it was rather creepy for a children's movie, but Amber had been watching horror movies since she was a toddler, so she ate it up with a look of wonder on her face. He ruffled her curly hair with a gentle hand, grinning. She was clearly excited for this Christmas. It was their first together in their own home. No travelling south to Eastbourne, no time spent in Kong. Just the two of them together in the nice cozy flat, with gifts and probably some sort of takeaway for Christmas dinner. Movies all night until it was time for Amber to go to bed, and probably him as well, since all of the learning he'd been doing recently made him get tired quicker too. And sometimes it's nice to rest, he'd decided.  
"Daddy?" Amber asked, glittery emerald eyes glancing up at him.  
"Yeah, birdie?" 2D asked.  
"When's Christmas?" She asked with a tiny yawn.  
With a smile, 2D said, "Tomorrow morning," he promised her. "Right when you wake up."  
"Okay," Amber said. After a bit of silence, she added, "I think I'm tired.."  
2D rolled his eyes, though it wasn't obvious. "Alright, come on.."  
The tall man hoisted her up onto his should her and carried her to bed. He tucked her in with her stuffed rabbit. He smiled and stroked her hair with a gentle hand.  
"I'll be back in a little while, alright?" He told her in a sweet voice. "Go to sleep, love."  
As Amber drifted to sleep, 2D fixed all of the presents under the lit tree and snacked on the one cookie that Amber had insisted on leaving out, drank the glass of milk, and returned to the one bedroom of the cozy apartment. He slid into bed beside Amber, cuddling the tiny girl in his arms. He sleepily played with her long blue hair. It felt like silk, almost. She must've gotten that from Lilac, he'd mused. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep.

When Amber jolted awake, 2D had expected that it was the next morning and that Amber was excited and ready to unwrap all of the colorful gifts piled up at the bottom of the tree. However, he could notice that as he was waking up, her breathing sounded heavy and anguished, like she was crying. That got him to wake up quicker.  
"What's wrong, bluebird?" He asked, brows furrowing as he sat up to comfort her better. "Bad dream?"  
"Yeah," Amber sniffled as her father turned the lamp on the bedside table so he could glance at the poor girl.  
"Wanna talk about it?" 2D asked in a soft voice, wiping a few tears from her freckled cheeks.  
"It was about Noodle," she whimpered. "Before the windmill crashed. I tried to warn her but it still happened."  
"Aw, love," 2D murmured. He felt a pang in his chest at the mention of the incident and sighed. "It'll all be okay, baby. I'm sure she escaped and is out there somewhere."  
The little girl sighed, pouting. "It was so scary. I really hope that she's celebrating somewhere, and that she's okay."  
"So do I," 2D mumbled. Glancing at the digital clock, he read that it was 4:45 a.m. "Let's make a deal, okay? You just gotta try to sleep for... I'll say about two more hours. Then we can open presents. Got it?"  
"Okay," Amber whispered. "See you in the morning."

When Amber had decided that birthdays were more fun once a kid got older, she hadn't considered other things, mainly holidays. Christmas was a lot more exciting than before. She'd gotten quite a bit of stuff. Maybe it was her father's celebrity perk, or Santa favored her, but she didn't care. She'd gotten a bunch of new clothes, some more stuffed animals, and a brand new gaming system with a whole bag full of games for her. That was the most exciting part.  
She couldn't wait for what was to come. But later on in life she'd realize that excitement only lead to a fair bit of disappointment.


	13. Post Phase Two - 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so I'm going to, after this chapter, I'm gonna try to not have as many time skips really. a little more chronological with chapters. and I'm jumping to right before plastic beach since it's 8th anniversary has just happened so,,, trigger warning theres some kidnapping in this chapter  
> also I'm mixing in calling 2d 'stuart' too because why not  
> and i looked it up and girl scout troops in the uk are different (like its called girl guides or something??) ambers like the age to be a rainbow guide or a rainbow  
> and sorry if the formatting throws you off since it's a little more different but hey I'm just working it all out

Stuart had heard it over and over from all of Amber's teachers: she was an amazing student, and an amazing child. He didn't need to be told that, of course, he knew that she was brilliant. She was the top of her class, and he'd heard nothing but good from the leader of her Rainbows group. He'd chaperoned several meetups himself, actually, and she always had a blast. He'd have her read him things at the museums, make him things in arts and crafts, and he made sure that she, and of course the other girls he had to help the other parents take care of, was happy. The leader, the lady in charge, was a single mother who had the hots for Stuart, which he rather appreciated. He did go by his birth name around the women at meetings, it seemed more sophisticated.  
Sometimes they'd go to a brief overnight retreat, the occasional Friday night, if the church in their area would lend them the rather large youth room for them to sleep in, and they'd just watch a movie on the projector and play games; it was similar to a regular meetup but with less of the tradition of an actual meetup and they got to stay together overnight. And, since Amber had trouble staying asleep without him or someone close to her, Stuart always got to tag along. At school, in meetings, in parent teacher conferences, he was Stuart, a normal man going to law school with a brilliant daughter. But at home, he was all of that with the normal part subtracted. Amber knew his home self as most of what he showed other adults, Stuart, mixed with 2D, a famous rockstar with a heart and voice of gold, with immeasurable talent and a deep care for Amber that words could hardly explain. Amber couldn't help but look up to him. She knew how amazingly talented he was, she'd seen it first hand, and there was plenty of good in his heart and personality.  
She preferred 2D to plain old Stuart. Plain Stuart was a smidge boring.

"Daddy?" Amber asked loudly. "I need your help with somefing."  
"An' wot's that?" He asked, poking his head into the room.  
"I need you to help me pick out the outfits for the weekend camp," Amber chirped in a bright voice, stood by her wardrobe.  
"Birdie," 2D murmured, walking to stand beside her. "You do know that's three days from now, right?"  
"Yeah, I know," Amber said, a little smile on her face. "But I want everyfin' to be ready now."  
2D sighed, reaching a hand over her shoulder to rummage through the folded outfits. "You could wear that rabbit one on Saturday. The gray shirt with the tail, and the jeans with the rhinestones."  
Amber's tiny smile transformed into a beaming grin. "Ooo! Perfect!"  
"You'll need your uniform, o'course, but you've got to wear something that'll really stun 'em." 2D smiled down at her. "So the rabbit one for Saturday... maybe the one with the peace sign shirt and your tutu fing?"  
A lot of Amber's outfits that 2D picked, that she let him pick, were bright pops of color or monochrome with dark colors. Tutus and skirts of different colors and shades, blue jeans and leggings in every color of the rainbow or shade of black to fit an outfit, overalls that he was convinced were adorable on her, most of which in pastel blues to go with her hair but not clash with it. Shirts, jumpers, and fuzzy pajamas with themes all of their own in a whole different drawer. She, though nobody but 2D knew, also often wore Muppet printed, heavy duty, overnight Pull-Ups since sometimes she wet the bed.  
"Sounds nice," she said cheerfully. "What for Friday? And pajamas are less important."  
"You're not going 'til Saturday morning," 2D said, puzzled.  
"Yeah, but I want you to pick me an outfit for school." Amber gave him a sweet smile over her shoulder.  
"Fine, then," Stuart said, fake-groaning as he sifted through outfits once more. "Maybe the pastel overalls with one of the softer jumpers? A baby pink one, maybe."  
Amber nodded and carefully set each outfit aside; the clothes for her overnight trip and backup pajamas were in her suitcase, and the one for Friday set atop every other outfit. And she couldn't wait.

Amber wished she hadn't been eyeing the clock for the whole day and hadn't been so eager to get back home. She'd barely paid attention to her class that day. While other kids were working on their numbers and early maths, she was curled up in the corner doodling on the worksheet she was supposed to be doing. She drew the windmill island. Not very well, of course, but she'd drawn it either way. Which led to her hastily scribbling over it so no teacher would question it. But quickly, it didn't matter.  
Once she'd gotten home, she'd snuggled up with 2D on the couch to watch a movie before the food arrived for them. Then, they ate at the little table they had. Amber happily scarfed down her meal as she told her father about everything she'd done that day, beside the lack of attention she'd had all throughout the day. And, after they'd finished their movie, Stuart sent her to their shared room to play. She happily agreed with him, going to lay among the comfy sheets and play on her GameBoy, her little stuffed rabbit in her arms. Her other console was at her grandmother's house.  
After a while, she heard a thump from down the hall and a slight bad scent from under the door.  
"Dad?" Amber called out, voice nervous. She opened the door, and was hit with a bad scent once she took a sniff. Walking out, and putting her toy in her one pocket of her overalls and the game console in the other. "Daddy, are you in here?"  
Suddenly, she stumbled upon her father, blacked out, with his face pressed into the window. Amber wanted to scream, but quickly, she felt her consciousness slipping. And then everything was black.


	14. Phase Three -  1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> from this point forward things are a bit less lighthearted, as it is plastic beach. it'll probably take until closer to phase four for things to calm down, but enjoy the ride  
> there's strong language, kidnapping, and some implied abuse in this

As soon as Stuart had broken free of the suitcase and stood to look around, he found another suitcase. It looked like one Amber would use, and, with a gasp he realized that it was the exact one she owned. Once it was unzipped he realized it was the one with all of her clothes that she'd packed. With a note that told him a second package would be arriving soon, and a crudely drawn winky face.  
Terror sent a shiver down his spine like a cold hand running down his back. His mouth got a bit drier than it already was, and worry settled in. He assumed Murdoc had dragged him to the island, at least what he assumed was an island of sorts, it could've been a peninsula for all he knew, for music purposes. So what did he need Amber for? That was, of course, assuming that the next package would be Amber. He hoped that the case of clothes was just something to scare him, but Amber would've seen who'd taken him for them to have gotten to it. It had to have been her coming next.  
Knowing there was nothing he could do but wait, he laid on a pier and decided that it'd be what he'd do.

To be fair, it didn't take much waiting. 2D was mid-power nap by the time he heard a muffled shout, which caused him to shoot up. In his line of vision he could see a suitcase, smaller than his that he was sent to the island in, right beside the one with the clothes. And of course it was smaller than his. It had to be, to hold the treasure that 2D held above all other things. It wasn't money, nor was it some sort of ancient artifact. It had to be Amber. It couldn't be anything else.

Amber was indeed trapped within the suitcase. The second she'd came to, she was stuck in a sweltering space that she could barely move in and barely breathe in. She'd wasted some oxygen shouting, but she'd have wasted a lot more if she'd simply waited for her father to wake from his "quick" nap.  
"Amber?" He'd called out, anxiety edging his voice.  
"Daddy?" Amber asked. "It's dark and hot and hard to breathe in here, and Hopps is getting scared."  
2D was really worried she'd been mad at him, which would've been her simply calling him dad. And she was obviously scared, since she was using her stuffed rabbit as a scapegoat. He nearly chuckled at the fact. He had missed that innocence that Noodle used to show, but luckily his own little girl had begun to show it as well. And that thought made him feel like he'd been struck across the face. He missed Noodle, who was like another daughter to him, or at least a little sister. Shaking his head, he brushed the thoughts aside. Amber was the main priority.  
"Bluebird, I'm gonna try to cut the lock, alright? I'll be careful," he said, fishing a pocket knife out of his jeans from where it was beside his lighter and positioning it at the lock. In one swift motion he'd managed to break it so he could open up the suitcase.  
Amber's head popped up and she gasped for breath, drinking in the air that was salted by the sea. Her face was stained with tears, the sun felt blinding, and her chest heaved.  
2D scooped her up and held her close to him, arms around her. "Ma chérie!", he'd exclaimed, kissing the top of her head. He greeted her like that often, after what seemed to be a particularly long day. Often, it felt like a welcome home. But it was clearer that this was an exclamation of relief, of joy that she was okay, and a phrase to relax her. As he let out the joyous cry, the welcoming exclamation, Amber's body relaxed in his embrace. But she immediately grew tense as footsteps approached and a raspy laugh echoed across the beach.  
2D stood after he set Amber down, and swept her behind him. He stood and glared darkly at the green man who was walking down towards the beach.

"Ma chérie?" Murdoc asked, sneering slightly. "Hmph. I'd honestly expected you to have thrown her out by now."  
Amber poked her head out to the side, hugging 2D's leg anxiously. When he made the remark, her eyes flit up to his face. His own eyes glanced down and met hers, and he gave her a grin. It was knowing and condescending, and it sent fear trickling down her whole body. When 2D noticed her trembling, he reached a hand back to gently stroke her hair in a reassuring way.  
:"I'd never," 2D spat. "She's my daughter."  
"Would you say the same about your other daughters?" Murdoc asked him, getting closer. "Do you even help pay for them?"  
"Of course I do," 2D grumbled. "Do you really think I'd be that awful?"  
Murdoc shrugged. "Meh. You might be. Haven't seen you since you ran off, have I?"  
"That's because of what you did to-" 2D growled, but was quickly cut off by Amber.  
"Noodle?" Amber asked in disbelief, seeing the person who had walked to stand beside Murdoc. But... It couldn't be here. Noodle was gone. Also, Noodle wouldn't dress like that, and, after all Murdoc had done, she definitely wouldn't be stood beside him so proudly and protectively.  
"Close," Murdoc sneered. He took some more steps down the stairs, and whatever it was that was so close to him, holding a gun, as Amber noticed, followed quickly. "A cyborg. Found some of Noodle's DNA at the crash site of the windmill and... recreated her. Now, she's the Gorillaz guitarist and my personal bodyguard, since a lot of people are, well, after me."  
Amber wasn't entirely sure what he meant by people being after him, but if he'd done something bad to those people, she wouldn't be shocked. She looked at the robot in a horrified, disgusted way. Noodle was gone, all that was left of her was a terrifying robot wielding a powerful gun, staring at she and her father like they were her next targets. She trembled, holding 2D's leg tightly, taking little shaky breaths. 2D's hand, just as shaky as Amber, moved to her, gently stroking her hair. She, at the simple gesture, smiled slightly. It relaxed her a bit more.  
"So this is a trick to get me back into the band? You just kidnapped me and dragged me here so I can be in the band again?" 2D asked, sounding shockingly confident.  
"Perhaps," Murdoc murmured, a terrifying grin growing on his face. "But that isn't even the best part."  
The father and daughter both gave him a confused look, though Amber's was more one of fear and 2D's a glare.  
"You're stuck here on this island until I say you can leave," Murdoc growled. "Both of you." Turning to his frighteningly spot on robo-Noodle, his menacing grin grew to be twenty times more menacing. "Cyborg, would you mind telling faceache and his little birdie where we are?"  
"Point Nemo, 48° 52′ 36″ South, 123° 23′ 36″ West," she rattled off. "Known commonly as the Oceanic Point of Inaccessibility, the farthest place away from all other land. We are currently stood on Plastic Beach, Gorillaz's home and recording studio."  
Amber was feeling too wide a range of emotions. She was trapped on an island of trash, as far away from other land as possible, stuck with a terrifying cyborg version of Noodle and the crazy old geezer the world knew as Murdoc Niccals. She could tell that her father wasn't doing much better than her by the way the blood drained from his face. Murdoc let out a sickening cackle, and Amber let out a whimper, holding onto 2D's pantleg.

As soon as the cyborg was completely finished, Murdoc had her escort the two to the basement. Deep underwater, underneath the beach and even further beneath the mansion Murdoc had built. Amber's ears had popped as they went down the lift. The room they were presented with wasn't... that awful. It was fairly modest. A bed, walls, support pillars. It was a room, indeed.  
Amber set down the suitcase she was carrying on the bed with shaky hands. She sat beside it and let out a weak sigh. At least she wasn't alone.  
2D sat beside her, sighing and pulling Amber into a sideways hug. She rested her head on him and nearly fell asleep there, until her father let out a shriek. A large whale had swam past the window.  
Ignoring 2D's scream of terror, their robotic escort began to speak. "The bathroom is over there," she said blankly. "Keep it clean." She glanced at Amber. "I'll see if I can get a bottle of water from Murdoc for you. We can't have you dying of dehydration on us."  
As Cyborg disappeared through the door and headed for the lift, Amber took a shaky breath. She should've been getting prepared to go to her event that she'd been waiting for all week. Instead, she was stuck on Plastic Beach in a basement with a whale swimming around and a lack of resources to keep her and her father alive. It took all of her strength to not burst into tears.


	15. Phase Three - 2

It had only been a few days of being stuck in the basement at Plastic Beach, but it felt more like an eternity. Amber could do nothing but huddle under the sheets as she tried not to freeze while playing her GameBoy with what batteries she had left as she waited for Cyborg Noodle to bring down the rations that Murdoc had the nerve to consider their meals. They also had a huge supply of water, lucky them, and Murdoc had even spared an electric kettle and some ingredients to make tea with. And, as Amber poked at the cup of noodles 2D made after boiling water in their kettle and adding it to the food, she realized how much she yearned for the takeaway she and her father had eaten before they were kidnapped. She truly wished she hadn't eaten so quickly in hopes it meant she could have more of 2D's attention and that they'd be able to finish their film before it was time for her to go to bed.  
She wished she'd known that she'd only be able to talk to her father and eat cup of noodles in a basement of an island. Maybe then she would've taken the time to savor every bite she took rather than wolfing it down.

Sometimes Amber would slip out of the room when Murdoc had 2D working with him on the album. She figured that she was there with her father as motivation for him to work. Whether the incentive was to work hard and Amber would be taken care of or something more sinister, she wasn't sure. But she soon decided that she didn't want to know what the incentive was.  
What was good about the island was that the mansion Murdoc had gotten built was rather comfortable. Not the haunted feel of Kong Studios, nor the small cozy feeling of the Oxford flat, nor even the home of her grandparents house. It had a place or two for her to relax while her father was busy. There was a desk that she had a habit of hiding under, since it provided a space for her and her alone.  
She knew that 2D didn't appreciate her being out of the basement and somewhere that he wasn't aware of. It was mainly out of worry that Murdoc would hurt her. Amber could respect that. However, sometimes she just needed to leave the basement. The pressure of the ocean was too much for her.  
One very early morning, when Amber couldn't sleep and her father was out like a light, the young girl snuck upstairs. Luckily, the lift made no ding as she arrived on the floor she'd hit the button for. That was lucky, of course, because as the doors opened and she stepped out she could see the sound of a sitcom laugh track and see the light that a television screen cast upon the wall. Murdoc was sat there, the cyborg beside him, watching the television with an empty bottle of alcohol at his feet. Amber knew that the bottle alone was enough to be unsafe. Slowly, as quiet as she could, she slipped outside and sat on one of the stairs in the flight that led to the beach. She didn't realize that her steps had made enough noise to call Murdoc's attention.  
He found her, staring off at the dark sea, chin rested on her hands and elbows on her pressed to her legs. It was still very early, the sun wasn't even up, so at first he wasn't sure who it was. But the long blue hair illuminated by the light of the moon and the way Amber's hands in her sleeves as if she was giving herself little paws gave it away.  
A little bit of sobriety was left in Murdoc, urging him to not scare the child too bad. She really hadn't done anything wrong, she probably just wanted some fresh air, or a chance to be out of the basement without her father breathing down her neck.  
"What are you doing outside so early?" Murdoc asked, his gruff voice as soft as he could make it. He noticed her stiffen, and she looked over her shoulder at him.  
"I needed some fresh air," Amber said, voice meek. "And I was getting a little sick of being inside."  
Murdoc sighed, sitting beside her on the steps. Amber stiffened further, and he let out a raspy laugh.  
"Don't be so tense, blue," he chuckled. "I won't hurt you."  
Amber forced herself to relax her body, taking tiny breaths. She didn't speak, waiting for him to continue once more.  
"Sick of being inside?" Murdoc asked, arching a brow. "I had almost forgotten little ones are like that."  
Murdoc couldn't remembered the last time there was a guilty conscious present within him, or, to be honest, the last time he'd felt much guilt at all. Maybe El Manana?  
Definitely El Manana. What had caused guilt to strike him like that was listening to the tiny blue haired girl speaking, telling him that she needed fresh air. It reminded him of Noodle when she was little. A little ball of pure energy that never seemed to run out. At least, not until they convinced her to let them tuck her in. Once she was all snuggled up, she normally fell asleep.  
A little voice in his head sneered at him, telling him that it was his fault that Noodle was dead and gone. He knew the voice was right. That was why he'd built the cyborg, after all.  
Amber stared up at him, green eyes wide. Whether it was fear or not, he couldn't tell, but it didn't matter.  
"Let's go inside, it's cold," Murdoc mumbled, standing up. "Come on." He offered her a hand to help her stand.  
Amber grabbed his arm carefully and stood beside him. They both went inside and Murdoc glanced around at all of the piles of things scattered around. He seemed to find what he was looking for, and handed Amber a blank sheet of paper and a pen. Amber glanced at it, confused.  
"Don't kids like to draw?" Murdoc asked, raising a brow. "Noodle liked to, whenever she wasn't busy with band stuff."  
"Yeah. I kinda like to draw," Amber said quietly. "Sometimes."  
"Go ahead and sit down," Murdoc muttered. "You can stay up here for a little while. At least, until the sun's risen a bit."  
So Amber sat and doodled on the page until she could see beams of sunlight hitting her drawings. She wasn't too sure what they were, but stood and headed to the elevator. Murdoc, puzzled, looked over at her.  
"Don't you want your drawings?" Murdoc asked her as she pressed the button.  
Amber shrugged as she stepped on. "Keep 'em." Then the doors shut, and Murdoc was left without any other humans left to speak to. Only the robot.

Lucky for Amber, she was back in the room and on her GameBoy before her father was even awake. She was curled up in a chair not far from the bed and had her game on a low volume.  
A tiny smile grew on 2D's face when he opened his eyes and saw her seemingly relaxed. His heart nearly melted when she smiled back at him.  
"Mornin', Daddy," she chirped, a leg that hung off the chair swinging as she took her attention off of her game to look up at him.  
"Good morning, bluebird," 2D murmured, yawning as he sat. "Slept well?"  
"Well enough," Amber responded cheerfully. "I reckon you did, too?"  
"Yeah," 2D mused. "I slept shockingly well. You still look a little sleepy, though, love, and it's very early. You should get back to sleep."  
Amber let out a stubborn puff of breath as she walked back toward the bed. Her father made room for her, and she snuggled up within the sheets with her stuffed rabbit in her arms. Her curious green eyes blinked up at him and he kissed her forehead.  
"You get to sleep," he said, voice practically a whisper. "I need to talk to Murdoc about something." He paused for a moment and, as though to try to make her less interested, he added on, "Boring band things."  
Amber shuddered. "I think that would do wonders to put me to sleep."  
2D laughed gently, rolling his blank eyes. "Sleep well, ma chérie."

2D left the room once he knew Amber was tucked in securely and fast asleep. Then he disappeared into the lift to speak with Murdoc.  
Murdoc had honestly not been expecting the other blue one to be up the elevator in that day as well, as his own choice, just like how young Amber's presence had confused him. Murdoc narrowed his eyes at the skinny man.  
"What do you want, faceache?" Murdoc snapped.  
2D took a deep breath. "I need you to promise me- and yeah, I mean promise- something."  
Murdoc's eyes narrowed further. "Go on, then. Don't just stand here and waste my time."  
2D sighed. "Promise me that if something bad happens to me, you'll make sure Amber is safe and taken care of. Whether you take her to my mum or care for her yourself. I just need you to assure me that she'll be okay if the worst happens."  
Murdoc processed the younger man's pleas, thinking. He was tempted to say no, but that annoying voice in his head, that annoying guilty conscious he'd suddenly developed, reminded him that he'd let Noodle down, that he'd killed her, and he can't let another innocent little girl get harmed because of him. So he reluctantly sighed and met 2D's blank stare. "I promise.... Now go back to the sodding basement before I lock you down there."  
The blue haired man nodded and hurried off. And god, the rush of joy felt so good as he processed the words. Murdoc promised.


	16. Phase Three - 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alternative title: murdoc fucks up (again)
> 
> also quick warning this chapter has some technical child abuse later on. be careful if you need to be

Why did this stupid album seem like it was taking an eternity? Amber didn't understand. She just wanted to go home, eat a good meal, have a nice warm shower in her and her father's flat, and cuddle up amongst the sheets and nap with the cat curled up protectively by her belly. She let out a tiny sigh every time she woke up and found out that she wasn't dreaming. Her father was around less and less, too busy to spend as much time with her. She slept often, so that was good, and ate what the cyborg delivered to her. But whenever her father would return, it was wonderful. She could relax in his arms and listen to his soft voice as he sang to her to calm her down. The whale bellowed outside, which spooked them both, but 2D never stopped holding her trembling form.  
Sometimes, she'd be locked down there with her father for days, and the door would only be opened for the delivery of food and water and then slam back shut. She could see her father growing paranoid during those times, and he didn't talk too much then. And she knew that he wasn't able to take any of the pills that made his head stop hurting, so he was pretty irritable. She just stuck to laying beside him silently, facing the wall. But more than often, he'd pull her into his arms and snuggle her and fall asleep with her in his embrace, his face nuzzled against the top of her head and his breath disturbing her hair.  
Not that she minded. Positive attention was better than negative attention, or none at all.

Whenever Amber could, she'd sneak upstairs to stare out at the ocean and imagine how the world was going on past those waves. Did the other kids even realize she'd gone? Had they cared that she'd left without as much as a goodbye, that she hadn't showed up to the event she'd been going on for weeks about? She would sigh, shake her head, and remind herself that life still goes on without her being around. That Oxford would be fine without her riding her bike around the park, or running around with the other girls in her rainbows group. They would be okay. But would she be okay, so far from everything she knew?  
She was really beginning to hate the ocean.  
Sure, the ocean was a bit pretty, and sometimes the sound of the waves against the beach was a bit peaceful, but a lot of bad came from the stupid ocean. The whale was in the ocean. The ocean was what had them stuck on the stupid island of trash. The ocean was what made it so they couldn't go back home. Yes. She hated the ocean.  
The weather was getting to be a bit cooler as well. Was it later in the year? It must've been a different year, or at least later in the year. She wasn't sure. But it had been a long time, that was for sure. Too long.  
Then, a sigh came from another person. She turned her head slightly to see Murdoc standing, leaning against the railing.  
"Y' really like staying out here, don't you?" Murdoc snickered. "Can't just stay inside?"  
Amber shook her head stiffly, growing irritated because of him bothering her. "Don't want to."  
He sighed, looking off at the waves. "Y'know, I think your birthday's passed."  
"Has it?" Amber asked curiously, looking over at him once more. "Oh. What year is it?"  
"Almost 2009," Murdoc mused. Then he turned and shouted back into the house, "Cyborg? What's the date?"  
Cyborg Noodle walked out of the house and processed it for a moment. "28th December, 2008."  
Amber frowned. She'd missed her birthday and Christmas, and she and her father had been stuck there for months. That just made her wish she was home even more.  
Murdoc noticed the look on her face and sighed, walking to sit beside her on the steps. "We've still got a lot of work to do..." He sighed and closed his eyes. "I can't promise you anything, kid, but there are pretty good chances you'll be visiting the mainland not too extremely long from now."  
Amber looked over at him, eyes wide. "Really? We'll be leaving the beach?"  
"Well, not permanently, but for a while," Murdoc said, shrugging. "Gotta round up the collaborators and such. Nothing you'd understand."  
"No, I wouldn't," Amber agreed, nodding. "And it sounds boring, so I don't fancy learning about it right know."  
Murdoc shook his head, smiling. "Alright, get back to your father. Take a nap or something."  
Amber frowned but stood and turned to leave. Cyborg stopped her before she got to the lift.  
"Shall I bring you food and more water soon?" Cyborg asked. The robot's voice was bordering on gentle and it made Amber almost forget that she was just a robot of Murdoc's creation and not the real Noodle.  
"Later," Amber murmured. "But soon, please."  
"Very well," she mumbled. Then she allowed Amber to leave the room and go back down to the basement.

March 27th, 2009. The cyborg would have that whole day recorded, logged in her memory, practically unable to be removed. It would never be removed from Amber's memory, either, because god. it was another event in which Murdoc put her through something traumatic, the second major one just after the peanut butter incident.  
She was struggling to make her way through a dictionary that she was reading, as though to teach herself as many words as she could possibly cram into her skull, when Murdoc had walked over to her, reeking with the stench of alcohol and holding himself strangely.  
"Amber," Murdoc said. At first, his voice was soft, and she hadn't heard him, but when he got no reaction he repeated her name louder, making her tilt her head curiously.  
"Wot?" Amber asked him, confused. Why was he being so loud? She wasn't sure.  
He leaned down so she could hear his voice more clearly. "Can you swim?"  
The little blue haired girl shook her head. Her locks were tied back in a braid and her freckles were clearly displayed on her pale skin. "Daddy said I shouldn't rush it, that I should take my time and do as I like."  
Murdoc scoffed and helped the girl stand, tossing her dictionary aside and glancing down at her, expression menacing. "Walk with me, blue."  
Amber walked nervously walked at his side, and stopped when they reached an area where the beach began to descend into the water. There was enough space for someone of 2D's height to stand and be in up to their ears of ground below, and then a drop to the bottom of the sea. Enough space for someone of Amber's size to swim and be able to walk out rather than drowning if they processed the thought quickly enough.  
"I'm not going in there," Amber quickly snapped.  
Murdoc then lifted her up and began to step towards the water with Amber squirming in his arms. He walked into the water until he was in up to his waist, then he tossed Amber in. She flailed her arms and tried pathetically to get her head above water. She shut her eyes tight to fend off the stinging of the saltwater and felt like she was suffocating. Luckily, Murdoc had the sense to pull the little girl out of the water so she could catch her breath. She coughed up water and wailed, but was again plunged under. She gagged as the water filled her mouth and flooded her senses, and she more desperately tried to get herself above the water, and away from the green man who'd forced her under, for reasons she could only assume were cruel and sadistic. Murdoc rolled his eyes as he fished her from the water and she gulped down as much air as she could before being sent right back into the sea. Finally, she felt her body fighting against the waves, and her head popped up on its own. Her eyes, though hurting, opened wide and she paddled as fast as she could to return to the shore. Murdoc was grinning widely. Was it smugness? Did he really hate her father so much that he'd attempt drown the man's innocent child?  
Amber sobbed as she pulled herself up on land, tripping and aching and spluttering, needy for air, feeling as though someone was choking her. The world was blurred and spinning and her whole figure trembled, and, with what strength she had, she bolted toward the indoors, in the direction of the lift. She needed her father's comfort more than ever. She'd been stupid to trust Murdoc and shouldn't have left her father's room in the first place.  
"You did it!" Murdoc called after her, trying to follow her. "You were swimmin'!"  
He, in his drunken state, had not seen anything wrong with throwing her into the ocean as a way to teach her how to swim. That's how he'd been taught. He'd been shoved into the pool by his brother and had to make his way to the ladder on his own, and even then he'd been showed with less mercy. But maybe he'd been a bit cruel, the voice commented. He then took note that, once he'd spoken, Amber began to cry a bit louder and grow more disoriented as she raced to the doors of the elevator and pressed the button like it would solve all of the world's issues. Then, he watched her soaked, trembling body disappear behind the doors. And almost immediately, he felt regret that nearly knocked him off of his feet. But it was too late to rethink the plan, it had already been done, so he just slumped in his chair to think.

Amber, upon getting to her floor, hurried out of the lift and towards her father's room as quick as she could. But she didn't need to run far to get to 2D. He'd woken up to her missing and was hurrying to go find her once she was down on his floor, and they crossed paths quickly.  
"Daddy!" Amber could barely choke the word out. She was soaked in water from head to toe and was wailing and sobbing. She stopped running and allowed him to scoop her into his arms.  
"Bluebird, what happened?" 2D asked, eyes wide and nervous.  
"I'm sorry," she muttered, coughing up water as she tried to explain. "Murdoc tried to teach me to swim, and he- he threw me into the water. I thought I was gonna drown."  
"Love," 2D whispered, carrying her toward the bathroom. He set her down to get a steaming bath started and sighed. "Don't apologize. What I care about is that you didn't drown, okay?"  
Amber weakly nodded as 2D tugged the hair tie out and helped her get out of the soaked clothes.  
"Now, you relax in the bath and play with the bubbles, okay? I need to talk to Murdoc about this," her father whispered.  
She nodded meekly, already within the bubbly water. Then her father disappeared and she tried desperately to relax.  
About ten minutes later, give or take, he returned, an eye blackened and scowl on his face. Amber looked up at him and was struck with another wave of fear that chilled her to the bone. He simply sighed, moved beside the bathtub, and began to massage shampoo into his daughter's soaked hair. He looked like he was trying to not cry, but Amber couldn't tell why.  
"He's just drunk," 2D said suddenly, scowling deeper as he spoke. "But it's rarely any other way here. Just... Just avoid him. Stay away from Murdoc, understand?"  
Amber nodded as best as she could while 2D began to rinse her long blue hair. She didn't have to be told to stay away at this point. She'd do it on her own. She didn't want to stare off at the ocean anymore.  
Now, not only did she hate the ocean, but she feared it. The way the waves beat against her as she struggled to get herself afloat, the way it made her cold from head to toe, deep inside to her bones as well. It was all too terrifying.  
Eventually 2D helped her out and wrapped her tightly in a towel, and once she was dry enough helped her get cozy in her pajamas. Then he scooped her up and carried her back to his room, and refused to let her go. Murdoc had promised he'd care for 2D's daughter. Now the poor girl was risking more tears and shivering in his arms, fearful. So, if something bad happened, so be it. He'd protect Amber until then, all on his own.


	17. Phase Three - 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: gun violence

Amber didn't leave that room for months, spending all of her time either alone or huddled at her father's side, hoping that the album would just be released and they'd be home soon. Or that they'd go to the mainland for collaborators soon. Anything to be off the sodding beach.  
The door swung open to Murdoc, and Amber clung desperately to her father, eyes widening nervously. 2D hugged her and rubbed her back gently, trying to relax her, and then glared at Murdoc.  
"What do you want?" 2D snapped, holding the shaking little girl in his arms.  
"We need to get the collaborators here. We're going to land." Murdoc, for a quick, fleeting second, looked like he might've been a little guilty as he saw that Amber was terrified. Then his face changed, back to a blank expression, and he crossed his arms and waited.  
"Why do I have to come?" 2D asked, letting out a little huff of breath. "We were jus' about to watch a movie!"  
He moved a hand from where he had it protecting Amber to gesture to a box containing a disc.  
"I remembered that Amber really wanted to leave the beach for a bit. And I need you to come with me. You're my frontman." Murdoc stared at them, whating for a response.  
Amber blinked up at him, confused, and 2D looked unconvinced. He pulled Amber closer to him, eyes narrowing.  
"We can get some food before we get them," Murdoc offered. "Now, come on."  
Amber's head lifted up, peering at him from beside 2D. Her stomach growled slightly and 2D sighed, scooping her up.  
"Fine," 2D mumbled, holding the little girl and tentatively stepping towards Murdoc.  
She clung to him, burying her face in his neck as they moved towards the man.  
"Noodle's readying the submarine," Murdoc said. "If either of you make one mistake while we're out there- that means either of you, you're both getting locked down here for a few more days."  
All Amber could pull from his rambling was his mentioning Noodle. For a split second, she felt a bit of hope. Then she realized he was talking about the robot and felt like she'd been kicked.  
"Let's just go," 2D snapped, grabbing a mask from off the ground and pulling it over his head. Amber could tell that he hated him calling that monster by the guitarist's name.

Amber looked around at the land and nearly groaned. "Murdoc?" She asked quietly.  
Murdoc sounded a little irritated as he responded. "What do you want?" He was annoyed because of the fact that she and 2D had quietly spoken to each other in the corner of the submarine as they traveled, and she knew that their excited voices probably bothered him.  
"Where are we?" She asked.  
Cyborg began to respond, but Murdoc cut her off. "Doesn't matter. Just get onto the land and start walking. Cyborg'll escort you."  
2D helped Amber onto the land, and then hurried to stand beside her. The robot walked stiffly beside them.  
They walked for about ten minutes until a car drove toward them. 'Stylo' was displayed proudly on the front grill.  
"Pen?" Amber murmured, brows furrowing as she looked at it. Then she sighed upon seeing Murdoc at the wheel.  
"Get in," Murdoc called after rolling down the window. "Noodle, get in the back with the kid."  
Cyborg Noodle opened the car door and ushered Amber into the car. "Go on. Slide down to the other side," she ordered.  
Silently, Amber did as she was told, sliding down to sit behind her father. She did notice the bullet holes marking the door, puzzled. Who'd shot at the car? It almost seemed like Cyborg had used it for target practice. She shivered, not wanting to think about all of the weapons that machine was given, or how deadly that she could be.  
After forever of driving, passing desert and billboards and playing a quiet, lonesome game of counting how many cars had passed, a grand total of none, they'd finally gotten to a city. Amber's face had lit up as they started passing more and more buildings, and as she rolled down a window to get some fresh air, the tantalizing scent of food from a restaurant nearby made her mouth water and her stomach growl more fiercely. A little, happy sigh escaped her. She could see her father smiling in the side view and she smiled as well. Even though they'd still be captives at the end of the day, they'd have at least a little while to enjoy life off the island.  
Murdoc parked his car in another restaurant's lot. Sure, it wasn't a super fancy five-star restaurant, but Amber hadn't been hoping for that. She'd just been hoping for something more than a box of cereal, a few packets of crisps, some beef jerky, and bottled water. She would take McDonald's over apocalypse rations any day. And, she hoped, maybe tasting some decent food would make Murdoc want decent food to be shipped to Plastic Beach.  
"Noodle, guard the car," Murdoc ordered. "Come on." He beckoned for the two to follow after him.  
Amber got out of the car as quick as quickly as she could and rushed to her father, where he was exiting as well.

2D had held Amber's hand as they walked inside. Murdoc had said they could get whatever they wanted, and 2D ordered a decent sized box of chicken nuggets and fries, and drinks for both of them. Murdoc got something for himself, something that Amber didn't care enough to pay attention to as her father helped her put her Hi-C in her cup. A little grin grew on her face as she drank the drink, and she let out a satisfied sigh.  
"Let me have a sip," 2D said as he walked her to a table. Amber sighed and handed it to him. He then grinned and took a huge sip, ruffling her hair.  
Amber pouted. "We're gonna need to refill that," she muttered crossly. But when he smiled at her, she smiled back.  
He beside her in their booth and wrapped his arm around her, and together they watched as Murdoc carried a tray to them. "Eat up, then."  
Amber ate quickly, stuffing nuggets into her mouth like she'd never eat again. When she noticed her father wasn't eating, she held up a nugget to feed to him. He sighed and opened his mouth for her to feed it to him. Then, after he finished the chicken, she held up a fry for him. Sighing once more, he bit the fry. Amber smiled cheerfully, pushing their food between him, and slowed down her eating. Murdoc ate some of his own food as he glanced at them.  
He wasn't sure why, but he nearly felt a pang of guilt as he watched them together. It was confusing. They looked so happy together, as if he wasn't even there. He let out a tiny sigh and finished his burger, and tapped his fingers against the table as he waited for them to finish eating.  
Finally, all of the food was gone. Amber rubbed her stomach and yawned as 2D refilled her juice. Then, Murdoc stood and walked to the door, and the two hurried after him. They entered the car and Amber stared at Cyborg nervously. The robot stared back at her, expression blank.

Murdoc "recruited" the collaborators, recruited being key word for either bribing or kidnapping them, and sped down the nearly empty road that they'd arrived on, and Amber glanced at the billboards as they drove. The windows were rolled down, and her father sang softly as they drove.  
The car sped past a cop, who hurried to get into his own vehicle and chase after them. Amber, when she heard the sirens, stiffened. Murdoc groaned, trying to maneuver Stylo so he could pull over, but Cyborg must've sensed the cop as a threat, because she loaded a gun and aimed. Amber shrunk away from her, and Murdoc tried to pull her back into the car, but she shot anyways. The car spun off the road, and Murdoc continued to speed away. Just their luck, they passed another car that began to speed after them. Then, as if by magic, which it probably had been, the sky went dark. The robot beside Amber began to malfunction, smoking from the hole in her head that Amber had never noticed before, and then she collapsed forward.  
Amber didn't manage to see much of what had happened because, once the bullets began to rain down on them, her father had shouted for her to duck beneath the seat and hide, that she'd probably be safer down there. She didn't like the lack of confidence, but probably safe was better than not safe at all.  
Amber closed her eyes, curled up tight into a ball, hoping they'd be fine. Then, she heard her father and Murdoc shriek. But she simply curled up tighter, arms over her head, and prayed to any higher power that they'd be okay, dear god, anyone, someone save them.

Amber opened her eyes after a few moments of silence. They were underwater, back in the submarine, as if like magic. Her father pulled her close and glared, disgusted, at the cyborg, who had sat up just to cough out a strange one-eyed octopus. Other submarines followed them as Murdoc maneuvered them through the sea. Somewhere across the waves, something big was happening and she knew it.  
Murdoc gestured for 2D and Cyborg to follow him up above the submarine once it was stationary, and Amber followed them all up.  
Some strange creature was in her line of vision, and, if she squinted, she could see a nearly human figure perched above it. Murdoc's eyes narrowed and he turned to the robot.  
"Cyborg?" Murdoc stared at her. "Show the bastard what you can do, eh?"  
The robot shot up at the figure until it turned and disappeared, knocking the creature into the ocean with it. 2D pulled Amber behind him, and the group stared into the mist together as other subs began surfacing around them. Finally, the fog cleared to reveal Plastic Beach.  
"Home, sweet home," Murdoc grinned.


	18. Phase Three - 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the dressing room ft someone who can actually come up with an idea to get them out. hint: its the 8 year old  
> also not 100% direct quotes from the dressing room, dont kill me

It felt like ages since they'd gone to gather the collaborators. Forever since Amber had been away from the ocean, been away from the sounds of the whale bellowing and the waves slapping against the shore. She so badly missed being on land. She missed McDonald's chicken nuggets, too. She wasn't alone, though. 2D was a little bit better, paid more attention to him, and seemed a bit more cheerful, but she had no idea why.  
"You seem a lot happier, daddy," Amber murmured, resting her head against him as they watched a movie together after a long day of him being in the studio.  
"Mhm," 2D hummed, toying with a strand of her hair. "That I am."  
"What happened?" Amber asked brightly, hopeful that something good was going to happen.  
"Well, we'll probably be home soon, the album's almost finished," 2D said cheerfully. "We're going to be able to get back home, Am!"  
Amber's head perked up. "Really? Do you really mean that? We're gonna be home soon?"  
2D nodded, grinning. "Soon, soon. We'll be free soon, bluebird."  
Amber's face lit up, excitement filling her. Then she noticed her father's expression change.  
"What's wrong?" She asked quietly.  
"Touring," her father groaned, rubbing his forehead. "We've got to go on tour."  
Amber frowned. "Tour? Do I have to come?"  
"Yeah, you've got to come!" 2D said, as if it was obvious. "As if I'd leave you here all alone! That's bloody dangerous, keeping you here all alone."  
Amber winced. "Sorry. I forgot."  
He kissed her head and sighed. "Nevermind," he murmured. "I've just got to make sure you'll be safe. Murdoc's getting more impatient as we get closer to the album's end. But, if we're lucky, we'll be home soon."  
Soon. She just had to hold onto that word. Soon.

They left around her 8th birthday. 2D convinced Murdoc to let him take her somewhere better than McDonald's to celebrate. Murdoc even sat at a different table with the cyborg so they could almost feel like it was just the two of them, like normal.  
Amber took a bite of her pasta, smiling and swinging her legs as she chatted with her father. She wore her tutu that day, since it was the fanciest attire she had.  
"I can't believe you're eight," 2D sighed after a sip of his drink. "Eight! You're growing up far too fast, Amber Grace."  
Amber sipped her water, trying not too laugh and spit it out.  
"But you're still my little girl. Aren't 'cha, bluebird?" 2D asked her, giving her a goofy grin that would've made her worry about being tickled if he wasn't all the way across the table.  
"Mhm!" Amber chirped before eating a bit more. "Always!  
Her father gave her a good natured grin before taking a bite of his own meal. "Wanna hear the best part of the night, Am?"  
"Hm?" Amber asked, looking excited.  
"You're allowed to get dessert," 2D said. "Well, we're both getting dessert, but it's for your birthday of course."  
Amber was beaming, excited. 2D didn't really order dessert all that often unless it was a special occasion, because for years dessert meant a hyperactive child when he wanted to sleep. So he only gave her sweets if they were small enough for her to have sugar crash by the time she should be getting to bed, or if it was early enough that she would have sugar crash by the time it was night. Or, as was that night, if it was a special occasion. Her birthday was, of course, a special occasion, and it didn't matter wasn't enough time for her father to have gotten her a shiny new bicycle or some other toys. She was happy that they were off the island, that she was with him, and that she'd be able to get dessert at a nice restaurant after her meal.  
A night out with her father was better than a night in, studying those books Murdoc had gotten her so she wouldn't forget absolutely everything from school while she was on the beach. Workbooks and reading books. She didn't absolutely hate them, they killed time, but they were boring and she honestly preferred reading the dictionary, something she'd picked up doing.  
Amber, a cheerful expression marking her face, ordered a brownie with ice cream and hot fudge, the best sounding dessert on the menu.  
2D had stolen a bite of her dessert, though she didn't mind much since he'd let her try Pepsi for the first time in exchange. It was deliciously fizzy, and she was very happy. She left the restaurant with everyone around her, unable to wipe the grin off her face as she skipped along, holding her father's hand tightly.  
Later that night, 2D laid beside Amber on one of the beds in their tour bus, blinking down at her as she slept off her wild sugar crash. She was still the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to him.  
She pressed her face against his chest, arms wrapped around her stuffed rabbit as he cradled her. Maybe things were tough, but at least Amber was safe. That was all that mattered to him.

The tour bus traveled along roads that seemed like they would never, ever end. Murdoc was passed out in the passenger's seat, Cyborg was charging, and 2D was holding Amber in his arms, singing softly to her as she rested her head on him. He sang songs from the new album, as if practicing for the concerts, and Amber sang along with him whenever she could remember what the words were. It calmed her down, listening to her father sing. Empire Ants and To Binge were two of her favorites. Her father's vocals in each of those songs were relaxing to her, and the female vocals, she couldn't seem to recall who had sang them, were bloody brilliant as well. Though, when it was just the two of them together, Amber would do her best to sing the female vocals when the time was right. She could always see the pride on her father's face, and that always made her feel a great deal of pride for herself as well.  
Eventually, though it felt like forever, they'd finally reached a destination. Murdoc woke and grabbed his things, Cyborg helped him carry some things as well. Amber watched as her father slung his banjo over his shoulder and grabbed his trusty melodica, and offered a hand to the little girl beside him. Beaming, Amber grabbed 2D's hand as she carried her rabbit in her arm. She figured the rest of their things, the ones the band would need, would be taken care of. They were all ushered into a dressing room, where Amber flopped onto a couch and 2D settled beside her.  
Murdoc scowled, checking the robot over. "Must not've been completely plugged in. Let's charge you up then, love, you'll need it for the show."  
He spoke softly as if he were talking to the real Noodle and plugged her into the wall. Amber couldn't stand it. Bored, she went back to playing her game.  
It took a while, but Amber could tell Murdoc was most impatient as he turned the doorknob, frustration practically radiating off of him. He mumbled to himself, ear pressed to the door. 2D strummed his banjo, leading to frantic shushing from Murdoc, but he played it again anyways.  
"Would you please stop playing that sodding banjo?" Murdoc snarled, glaring at him.  
"It helps me calm my nerves before the show," 2D retorted quickly, plucking another string.  
"One more note on that hillbilly instrument and I'll stick it in your mouth," Murdoc threatened before turning back to the door. "Yeah, there's definitely something going on out there." Murdoc tugged at the knob a few more times before turning to glare at 2D. "The door's jammed, why's it jammed?"  
2D shrugged, and Amber moved closer to him. He put his arm around her protectively.  
Cheering grew louder outside, and Murdoc squinted. "Hang on- ah, a warm up band's beginning to take stage. Won't be long now." He grinned devilishly, tapping his foot. "No... Won't be long."  
Amber took a nice, long nap, and woke up to Murdoc shouting. As she lifted her head up, she noticed her father was gone and that it was dark.  
"How much longer are the warm up band gonna hog the stage for?" He snapped, frowning angrily at the door. "Sounds like some kind of... Gorillaz tribute band."  
A toilet flushed, and 2D stepped out of some mysterious door.  
"Where the bloody hell have you been?" Murdoc snapped.  
"Toilet," her father responded as Murdoc prowled toward him. He was smacked away from the door and he walked over to Amber's side to hold her.  
Murdoc tried desperately to get the door opened, but it was jammed just like the other, and he ended up flying backward.  
Suddenly, Amber piped up over the loud music from behind the door. "Why don't you just break a window?"  
"Break a window?" Murdoc asked. At first his tone was a bit mocking and his eyes were narrowed, but then his expression lit up. "Break a window!"  
2D laughed and kissed Amber's cheek. "A bloody genius! That's my girl!"  
Amber grew to be very happy, noting how proud her father was as Murdoc activated the cyborg and ordered her to break the window. They were free.

Touring went better than Amber expected. They didn't do much actual performing, actually, the people running the tour wouldn't allow them to "for their own safety". It didn't matter much to Amber. All that mattered was they'd be home soon. Sure, Murdoc had prompted that they stay on Plastic Beach, for a party with the collaborators to celebrate the album's success, and to film one last music video together, but her father didn't seem to care. He let her know something, too: he'd been making an album throughout the tour, so it would be helpful if he was there on the beach. It would make his album more successful.  
They rode back to the island in the submarine and Amber rested on her father's lap, playing with her stuffed rabbit. Her father snored, and she smiled. She lifted up the plush rabbit's floppy ear and whispered in a tiny voice, "We'll be back home soon, Hopps. Soon."


	19. Phase Three - 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uwu i put a stronger accent for 2D bc hes a tad drunk at the beginning lol  
> WARNINGS: Gun violence, blood mention, alcohol mention, implied/mentioned death  
> its rhinestone eyes, fellas ft massive dick the whale  
> ((inaccurate depictions of islands getting eaten by whales aight))

The time that Amber and 2D could go home felt so close that Amber could practically grasp it. They were going to be home! It was something that made her extremely excited.  
Her father, however, was much more impatient. He was growing bitter, desperate to leave, and was seeming more and more cooped up in the sodding island. Sometimes, late at night, she would find him pacing impatiently with a single light on. He'd have his hands balled into fists, teeth grit as he grumbled to himself in anger, something about Murdoc. His tone was always bitter, scowling angrily.  
One night in particular stuck out to her. Normally, her father would ignore her entirely and continue his pacing and rambling without giving her a second glance. One experienced greatly differed.  
He walked back and forth, muttering to himself with the mask atop his head. He must've noticed Amber moving, peeking up at him, because he stopped moving as much.  
He turned to look at her. "Amber?" His voice sounded slightly shocked, as if he had never noticed before that she'd watched him in his little bits of mania. "You're awake?"  
Silently, Amber nodded. He still sounded mad, and his voice was a little slurred. It smelled a bit of alcohol and that sent a small bit of worry through her. Noodle normally pulled her into another room once there was alcohol around, and Murdoc was rather aggressive when drunk. What if her father was like Murdoc in that way, and that was why Noodle always distracted her with games and toys, so she wouldn't need to witness that? It made her shudder.  
2D must've noticed her shudder, or seen her expression in the weak light. He crouched down and ran a shaking hand over her head, trying to calm her and himself all at once.  
"Blue? Songbird? Listen to me, okay?" He said softly. She could smell it on his breath too- not the strongest, but still present. "Murdoc finks he's in control. He's not. He finks he's got his teeth into me, bu' again, he 'asn't. One day I'll be the one in control, baby blue. I ca' promise you that."  
His eyes still burned with anger, toward Murdoc she determined, as he searched her face avidly for a response to what he'd said, and though she was wanting to cringe back away from him, she cracked a fake smile.  
"I'd like to see him get some.... what's it called?" Amber asked softly.  
"Karma?" 2D offered.  
"Yeah, that," Amber nodded.  
"Good," 2D murmured. "Good. Let's get to bed, then, lovely. You need your sleep."  
He curled up beside her, pulling his mask over his face and falling asleep quickly.

Of course, just as things were starting to get better, all went to hell.  
Amber remembered long before that Murdoc had mentioned being hunted down by pirates. She didn't know that the pirates would find them. Unfortunately for her, she'd been upstairs fetching snacks for herself and her father from the kitchen when they did. A loud boom shook the ground, and she almost let out a startled yelp but instead just gasped and pressed herself to a wall. She peeked out of the window, eyes narrowed and squinted as she tried to find out what was happening. As she blinked, she could see chaos outside. She let out another tiny gasp and ran for one of her hiding spaces. She held her breath and curled up beneath the desk. Her stuffed rabbit and gaming device were in the pockets of her overalls. She had a soft pink jumper over her t-shirt, underneath the straps keeping the overalls up.  
She tried not to cry, squeezing her eyes shut. Should she go back down the lift to get to her father? No, that could corner her. But her father... She was so worried for him. For herself. And, though she wasn't Murdoc's biggest fan, she was worried for him too. She listened as the chaos continued outside, shivering and breathing softly. After a while, she heard the noise stop. She lifted her head and heard feet pounding and heavy breath.  
"Are they gone?" Murdoc asked himself in a shaky voice. Amber's breath had hitched, causing Murdoc to swing around to look for the sound. "Who's there?"  
"Murdoc?" Amber asked softly, shivering.  
Murdoc rushed toward her and peeked under the desk. "What are you doing up here? It's dangerous! Why aren't you with your father?"  
"I was fetchin' him snacks," Amber murmured nervously. "Then there were loud noises and I went to hide. I was worried someone would've attacked me if I hadn't."  
Murdoc let out a little sigh. "All the pirates are gone now, but cyborg might be broken. I powered her off, and I gotta fix her later. Come with me." When she didn't move, Murdoc sighed. "I won't let anything get to you, okay? You just gotta get out from under there."  
Amber nodded and crawled out from under the desk. As soon as she stood, she nearly fell again as the whole island shifted and rumbled. Murdoc, panicking, scooped up Amber and raced for higher ground, out onto the beach by Stylo's submarine form. He set Amber down cautiously, and then suddenly the island shifted again. The whale bellowed loudly below the water and Amber's blood ran cold. Her father was down there with that whale. The shaking had come roughly from where his room was. She took in a harsh gasp, turning toward the feeling. Suddenly, the ground lurched and it tilted slightly. The island was breaking, sinking beneath her converse clad feet and as the whale bellowed again, moving from the island and out into the water, she was vaguely aware of a loud shriek tearing from her throat as she sobbed. From Murdoc's grim expression, the way the island was shifting, the destruction below the water, all of it... She had enough of a grasp on reality to realize that the whale had finally gotten what he's wanted, he'd taken a bite out of the room where her father was huddled up, shaking in fear. He was gone. For all she knew, she'd never see him again.  
In one second, she was still in front of Murdoc. In the next, she was bolting to the water's edge, about to run directly into it. Murdoc had grabbed her quickly before she could reach it, and she watched through tears as the whale sprayed water into the air. It had already hurt her, had already stolen her father. Watching that creature do something some would perceive as graceful was simply adding insult to injury.  
Murdoc held Amber close to him, listening as she let out horrible sobs and wails. She'd lost everyone and everything. He was the only one left for that little girl, the only one left to hear her broken-hearted sobs and screams as a whale swam away with her father in its stomach. He wanted to tell her it would be okay, but that would be the single biggest lie he'd ever told, and simultaneously the least believable lie he'd ever told. Instead, he just mumbled softly to her, gut twisting with pity.  
"I've got you," Murdoc murmured, tensing up as he held her, "Don't worry. I won't let anything hurt you."  
She rested her head on his shoulder and sobbed as he carried her trembling form to the submarine. He brought her down, wrapped her in a blanket and gave her a gentle pat on the head. She shivered and cringed at the sound of the ocean as Murdoc disappeared up the ladder. Her vision was blurry and she was exhausted but she didn't want to sleep, not wanting to face the night terrors she knew were bound to plague her. After some period of time, as Amber drifted in and out of reality, she noticed that Murdoc had set the now disabled Cyborg Noodle a little ways away from her and he sighed, lighting a pipe and closing the hatch. They were back to the sea, headed for land, but missing someone who belonged there. With wide eyes as she clung to her stuffed rabbit, Amber noted that she'd never forget him if he ended up not coming back. She'd never let her father be forgotten.


	20. Post Phase Three - 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy late birthday to Bluebird! I'm so proud of how far this has come, and I'm grateful for all of the support I've gotten. Here's some slight angst and then fluff for your soul  
> feat. murdoc actually kinda trying to take responsibility for his actions

As Murdoc had driven off in the submarine, he'd expected that once Amber woke up she'd bombard him with questions or bother him about when they'd be on land. But while she was awake in the beginning of the drive, the most noise she made was the occasional choked sob or pathetic whimper as she curled up in the blanket with a pillow under her head, and while she slept her occasional cries were louder, edged with terror. Eventually, when she'd cried out for her father, he couldn't handle it and gently shook her awake. Then, whenever Amber was awake, she was practically silent, holding back her cries as if she thought him waking her was a sign he didn't want to hear her.  
The sound of her soft, shaking breaths and the sight of her trembling in his peripheral vision made the whole experience much worse than it would've been if he was alone with the robot.

It took a while for Amber to start talking again. They'd moved into a flat in London, nothing too special, but safe enough. Safe enough that the pirates wouldn't find Murdoc, which in turn ensured that Amber would be safe from them as well.  
Murdoc felt unbelievable guilt whenever he saw the shaky girl. She was weak and scared and he had to bargain with her to get her to eat meals. She was fragile, and it made him feel the worst that he had in a while. But he made sure she ate, made sure she drank enough water, attempted to make sure she kept clean, and he tried to ensure that she felt safe. He tried, anyways. No matter how hard he tried, however, he always noticed the way she had a slight tremor about her.  
Sometimes he'd herd her downstairs to the lounge and put on cartoons for her to watch while he did his radio broadcasts. If she wasn't too startled by his presence, he'd sit beside her and ramble nonsense. As time went on, that began to happen more.  
Though Amber hated to admit it, his company was all that she had and sometimes it wasn't that bad to listen to him talk her ears off. And Murdoc was used to talking to himself, anyways, so he didn't mind her lack of response.  
The nightmares that had plagued Amber the whole ride to London had never left. There were various different subjects when it came to Amber's dreams. Noodle, Russel, her father, the cyborg, and the pirates, to name a few. She woke up sobbing and shaking, chilled down to the bone and terrified. Most of the time, she had the sense to muffle her cries with a hand or bite down on her lip, worried Murdoc would get annoyed by the sound. His room was just down the hall from hers, and she didn't want to bother him at all. God, she hated that she was so worried, she really needed someone to remind her that she was safe and that things would be okay, and he was the only person there, but she couldn't bring herself to let him hear her cry. One night he did, though.  
It was rather convenient. Murdoc, who had been running low on rum and because of that had sobered, was thinking about the child's situation as he watched late night reruns of old shows. How she actually sort of reminded him of himself as a child in an odd way. No mum, dropped off on her dad's doorstep as a baby. Though, of course, she'd had a much better father figure, but the girl had her own kind of fatherly trauma. She'd lost her father. All of the similarities he could name made him feel guiltier; he didn't want Amber to grow up and become a person like himself. He searched through a bag of items and sighed, pulling out a fancy new electronic device, an iPod with a light up screen that you could tap, something that made him feel like he was in the future. 2D had bugged him to let him get one for Amber, and Murdoc had actually done it, there simply wasn't time to give it to her with all of the chaos that had happened. It had some songs on it, mainly from his own band, and he wondered slightly if hearing her father's voice would make Amber better or worse.  
Such thoughts were disrupted when he heard a sudden loud sob erupt from Amber's bedroom. It confused him slightly, due to how late it was, and made him just the slightest bit worried. He didn't have a guess toward what had happened. Putting the iPod in his pocket, he walked up the stairs and opened the door to find the girl curled up in her bed, crying and shaking. He frowned, walking into the room.  
"Are you okay?" He asked softly, furrowing his brows. "Something wrong?"  
She nodded shakily. He settled down beside her with a sigh.  
"C'mere, love, it's okay," Murdoc murmured, opening his arms to console her.  
Amber moved closer and let him hold her, tired and sad, trying to calm her breathing. Murdoc used what he remembered from comforting Noodle when she was younger, what he remembered from seeing the others comforting Noodle, and rubbed her back gently as she took deep breaths. The ever persistent voice reminded him that it was his fault that everything had happened to her, and that he needed to be responsible and take care of her. Nobody else was around to do that.  
"I'm scared," Amber hiccuped, voice raspy.  
Murdoc hadn't been expecting Amber to talk. A slight bit of relief washed over him. He worried that she'd never talk again.  
"You're scared?" He asked softly, brows furrowing. He thought for a moment, before adding on, "Bad dream?"  
She nodded slowly, sniffling. "About Dad," she whispered, before fighting back a sob.  
Murdoc held his breath for a moment before letting it out. "I'm sorry," he said, voice hesitant. "I know this is my fault, and I can't take it back."  
Amber really hadn't expected him to say that. For a moment, she worried it was some sort of cruel joke, or just a lie to give her some sort of solace. However, his expression was as serious as he sounded, and she realized that maybe he was actually trying to be better.  
She let out a tiny sigh. She couldn't really forgive him, some of the things he'd been the cause of, whether directly or indirectly, she couldn't forgive him for. But she supposed he wasn't asking for forgiveness, only that she knew that he was sorry.  
"I've got something your father wanted to give you a while back," he added, grabbing the iPod from his pocket and handing her a package containing earbuds for it. "It's got some of our music on it. I s'pose if you're missing your dad a lot you can give the songs a listen and feel like he's here."  
Amber's jaw dropped slightly, eyes lighting up. "Really?"  
Murdoc nodded, handing it to her. She gave him half a smile, holding it close to her chest. He gently ruffled her hair and stood.  
"Shout for me if you need me," he said, then walked out and shut the door behind him.  
Amber put in her earbuds and drifted away to the sound of the music.

Amber listened to the music a lot, Murdoc noted. He realized, however, when Spring had arrived, she was sort of healing. Step one, he supposed, was her speaking again. Then, her shaking began to stop, and she started needing less help caring for herself. He still tended to remind her to eat and drink water and bathe, but it wasn't often that she really needed the reminder.  
He was glad she enjoyed the gift, that it hadn't gone to waste. It did really did help her relax, which was good.  
She really was a good kid. She was quiet for the most part, which he generally appreciated, because the alternative was her being noisy, and he didn't want that.  
He was going upstairs to check on Amber. He knocked on her door, and, when he didn't get a response, peeked inside. She wasn't in her room. Murdoc frowned, brows furrowing. Where could she possibly be?  
Next, he knocked on the bathroom door.  
"One minute!" Came Amber's voice, sounding nervous.  
"Are you okay?" Murdoc asked, eyes narrowed. "Something wrong?"  
"No," Amber squeaked, "nothing is wrong!"  
Murdoc frowned. "I'll wait out here, then."  
Then, he stood outside the bathroom patiently and waited. After a moment, Amber came out, and Murdoc nearly choked. She looked a lot like her father, and from the scissors on the counter and the blue hair discarded all over the bathroom, he knew why. It was cut rater messy, sticking up a lot, but that just helped her look more like her dad. He had to stop himself from wincing, trying not to think of what had happened to 2D.  
"I could've gotten a hairdresser to do that," Murdoc said tentatively.  
"Yeah, but I wanted to do it myself," Amber mumbled.  
Murdoc sighed, ruffling her short hair gently. "Let's get you some dinner, yeah? Then we can get all of your hair swept up."  
Amber nodded and followed him downstairs, listening to him order takeaway. She hoped, desperately, she would see her dad again. But she had no choice but to wait and see.


	21. Post Phase Three - 2

"Wake up, kid," was the first thing Amber heard one morning in early August. A gentle shake of her shoulder accompanied the gentle, yet gruff, voice.  
Amber yawned and stretched, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she woke. Murdoc was sat on her bed, waiting for her to wake in an almost patient manner. He ruffled her hair with a sharp toothed grin.  
"What?" Amber mumbled crossly, upset he'd woken her. "It's so early.."  
"Figured we could go out today. Get some more food and maybe get some ice cream for you or something," he shrugged. "And you could use some fresh air."  
Amber grinned at the mention of getting a treat, but frowned as Murdoc's expression grew a bit more forlorn.  
“What’s wrong?” Amber asked, brows furrowing.  
“Well, we’ve got to do... orientation. At your new school.” Murdoc remembered very well how bad school was for him. Nobody liked school, and if they did, they were out of their mind. Due to that, he decided to be gentle with Amber about school for the bulk of it.  
Amber let out a wail of protest almost instantly. “I don’t wanna go to school!”  
“You have to, kid,” Murdoc murmured, shaking his head. “Trust me, I hated school too. But you’re going to thank what of your education that wasn’t a waste once you’re an adult.”  
Amber scowled, crossing her arms with a big pout. “I still get ice cream, right?”  
“Yeah, you still get ice cream,” Murdoc nodded, ruffling her messy hair, drawing out an indignant squeak.

The day went by quicker than Amber wished. Normally, she didn’t mind the night. She’d just relax and eventually go to bed. It was lucky for Murdoc that she wasn’t a fussy kid. The night that day was different though. She was to meet with teachers and such, which sounded like the exact opposite of what she wanted to be doing on a summer evening. It didn’t matter that she didn’t want to be there, though. Murdoc still dragged her into the school building, in a bit of a hurry due to their lateness.  
“Mr. Niccals!” A voice called out jubilantly. An older woman smiled at him, moving to shake his hand quickly.  
As Murdoc greeted her, Amber glanced up at her. The woman seemed somewhere between Dumbledore and McGonagall, she decided. The adults talked, and she zoned out slightly, until she heard her own name.  
“This must be Amber,” the woman grinned, glancing down at her. “Pleasure to meet you, I’m Professor Hawkins.”  
“Nice to meet you too,” Amber said meekly.  
“C’mon, you don’t gotta be so shy,” Murdoc said softly, giving her a gentle pat on the head. Then, he nodded. “Little Miss Amber Pot,” he mused, giving the woman, presumably the headmistress, a quick grin. “Got her father’s last name, she does.”  
Professor Hawkins nodded with a little smile and ushered them into her office. They sat down in the two chairs across from her desk, and she sat in her own chair.  
“Tell me about yourselves,” she murmured, examining the two.  
“I’m her grandfather, mum’s side,” Murdoc said. “When she was around 20 or so I started a band and she fell for my lead singer. Well, unfortunately, my daughter, poor Lilac, didn’t make it when she had Amber. The band took good care of her, of course.” Murdoc let out a long sigh. “A lot of stuff happened recently. The band had a messy split, and her father... well....”  
Professor Hawkins had a sympathetic look on her face. “Oh, I’m so sorry, poor thing.”  
Amber had stayed quiet for the most part, but she scowled at the mention of her father, used as a ploy for her empathy in a string of flawless lies.  
“He’s lost at sea,” Amber said stiffly, looking up from where she sat. “He’s lost at sea, and he’s gonna come home.”  
Murdoc gave the woman across the desk a look, and she nodded. Her lips pursed slightly.  
“Right, of course,” she nodded. “Simply lost at sea.”  
Amber's eyes narrowed, and she maintained her scowl. Her father was alive and she knew it. The adults continued talking, and she zoned out. Later, she was told she had to take some sort of test to make sure she could get into the school. The girl did as she was told, answering each of her questions very carefully, brows furrowed in focus. Murdoc raised his brows as he watched her solve the problems she was faced with. Eventually, she was done with her quiz and Murdoc brought her back home. They watched some TV and ate the ice cream they'd bought, then Murdoc sent her off to bed. Around two in the morning, he'd gone up and sat with her to calm her from a nightmare. Then, around half past two, he'd fallen asleep there, Amber curled up beside him.

School, like usual, was boring. Amber was doing decent academically, she went to sleep a lot easier, and she seemed more stressed. Murdoc hated that it took so much of her energy, she didn't need to be moping over another shitty thing in her life. So, one day, while she was at school, he went and got her the one thing that would make her the happiest. A pet rabbit.  
Amber loved bunnies more than anything else in the entire world, besides maybe her family and the music she was always listening to. Floppy ears, upright ears, any color of fur out there, she loved them. Sometimes, she'd get so excited when talking about them that her words would get jumbled up and she'd pronounce the word wrong, like "wabbit" instead of "rabbit". He teased her just slightly about it, but none of it was really harmful, only playful teasing.  
He set up the cage just how he'd been instructed in the corner of her room. He put the bag of food for it in a safe space, fixed up the water for it and everything. He even bunny-proofed her room as the worker had recommended. Everything was perfect, the rabbit, one that had white fur with black splotches, was secure in its own rather expensive cage, and he sighed. It wouldn't make up for what he did to her father, and Noodle, and Russel too, but maybe it would make her handle all of what life was giving her a bit easier. And, of course, her birthday wasn't extremely far, after all.  
Hiding his mild excitement, he drove her back home, promising a surprise for her. He led her upstairs and told her to cover her eyes as she went inside. Then, he pulled her hands from her eyes and watched her response with a swelling sense of pride, and a feeling that he'd finally done something right.  
"A wabbit!" Amber gasped, out of breath and wiping her face, overwhelmed.  
"Nah, you're a wabbit. That's a rabbit, Am," Murdoc said, giving her hair a gentle ruffle and smiling as she admired the animal in its cage.  
She was very gentle with every move she made. She spoke softly and gave the bunny plenty of time to adjust.  
"I think I'll name him Caesar," Amber hummed.  
"Caesar?" Murdoc asked. "Alright, if that's what you think he should be called. He's yours. Happy early birthday."  
Amber quickly hugged him, sniffling. Her face pressed against his chest and she was clearly doing her best to not cry out of sheer happiness.  
"Thank you so much, Muds," Amber mumbled.  
"Don't mention it, kid." He sighed. "You deserve something for all you've been through in the past few years."  
Amber smiled widely, unable to handle it. "I'll take good care of him. I promise."  
Murdoc gently pat her head. "I'm sure he's happy to hear that."  
Amber didn't know if there could be anything better. She'd find out sooner or later, though.


	22. Post Phase Three - 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy slightly belated 16th birthday amber!!!!!!!!!!!!

Life in 212 Wobble Street had become a boring cycle as summer holiday approached. Every morning on the weekdays, Amber would wake up early and get ready, feeding Caesar and getting everything, then go to school, and after school Murdoc would bring her home and they would eat some dinner. She'd do any schoolwork that she needed to finish, then she'd watch some TV with Murdoc, or play games on her GameBoy, or spend her evening cuddling and playing with Caesar.  
On weekends, she'd stay up a few hours later and wake up a few hours later. She'd do some cleaning around the house, groom Caesar and attempt to teach him some tricks, and then kill time for the rest of the weekend, whether it involved watching an excessive amount of DuckTales and Who's Line or trying to finish Harry Potter.  
Murdoc didn't much like the schedule, due to how mundane it all was. He was a celebrity, a rockstar, who spent his days looking after a kid and re-filling a rabbit's water bottle and stash of hay. He reminded himself that he needed to do it, though, that she needed someone to take care of her. He decided that he'd just have to shove his boredom aside.  
On a Friday afternoon, when Murdoc was sitting across from Amber at the dinner table as they worked on a pizza, he noted that she seemed to be waiting for the time to say something. Murdoc gulped down his bite and remained quiet before finding his words.  
"Something on your mind, blue?" He asked, raising a brow.  
"I want to audition for a play that's coming up soon," Amber said through a mouthful of food.  
"A play?" Murdoc asked, tapping his nails against the table. "What's the play?"  
"Aristocats," Amber chirped. When he didn't immediately respond, she added, "It's about aristocratic cats."  
"Yeah, I got that," Murdoc responded dryly.  
"..Oh, right." Amber grinned at him. "I'm just excited is all."  
"When are the auditions?" Murdoc asked her.  
"Next Friday," she said quickly.  
"We aren't busy then," he said, though they were never exactly busy. "You'll need to practice a lot, you know."  
"I know," she nodded. "I've got my lines I need to do already."  
Murdoc chuckled slightly. She'd already been practicing her lines, most likely for a while, because she was excited about the idea of being in a play. A play, probably with music involved, about aristocratic cats. Maybe the slow-paced feeling of life as it was right then wasn't all that bad.

Lucky for Amber, she'd gotten the part. She'd be playing Marie, and she was excited. Though, she wouldn't let Murdoc know much about it, and insisted that it needed to be a surprise. She'd pace around in front of Caesar, who paid more attention to his pellets than her reviewing her lines. She'd pause as if the rabbit would respond with the other lines, then continue with the rest. She did her best to work on her lines and make them as perfect as she could. Giving people a good show was her goal.  
Occasionally, Murdoc would have to pick her up from her practices. On the nights she didn't have practice, he could just slightly hear her reviewing her lines or getting the lyrics of her parts in the songs in her head. It made him smile. She brought joy to the house, and reminded him a lot of Noodle.  
Amber was always full of energy around then. She made sure to tell Murdoc that the nights she'd be performing would be the first weekend of her summer holiday. He'd never admit it, but he was a bit excited to see how she would do.

Early one morning, Murdoc shook Amber awake. She coughed slightly, covering her eyes with her arms. She blinked up at him.  
"Can I stay home?" She asked, sleepy, looking slightly sick.  
Murdoc frowned. "I.... Are you sure you need to stay home? You've only got a week left..."  
"I'm positive," she muttered, wiping her nose with her sleeve.  
Murdoc glanced at her for a moment before sighing in defeat. "Alright, I'll get you some medicine, and get back to sleep, kid."  
She smiled sleepily and nodded. "Thanks."  
"Yep," he nodded. He left her room, returning with some medicine to ease her cold and help her sleep.  
She thanked him, took the medicine, and then snuggled up in her bed, letting her mind drift. She wasn't sure if she was delirious from sleepiness and the medicine to soothe her sniffling and cough, but her brain was running wild. She missed the other members of her father's band, especially her father. Would he ever come home? She hoped so. She really wanted him to see her play, that would be the best thing in the entire world, and the only thing she really wanted.  
Eventually, the small girl fell asleep in her bed, burrowed under the covers.

About three days later, Amber's cough went away. Her last two days of school were more fun than normal, and things were good. Murdoc picked her up from school and made some small talk with her throughout the drive. He then ordered a pizza and got a movie started on the TV. Amber sat beside Murdoc on the couch, getting comfortable as they watched a cheesy zombie movie. The pizza arrived about twenty minutes in, and they ate leisurely. After a while, Amber was half asleep, snuggled up beside him, before another knock came from the door.  
Amber yawned. "We already got the pizza," she observed, furrowing her brows.  
"Yeah," Murdoc nodded. "Stay here, Am, I'll go and get the door."  
Amber nodded, reaching toward the pizza box on the table to get another slice. Murdoc looked through the peephole and gasped, then opened the door. Russel was stood at the door, waiting. Amber dropped the pizza in the box, frozen for only a split second. Then, she hurried off the couch and ran to him, arms open. Russel pulled her into a tight hug, grinning down at her.  
"Hey, honey," he said softly, his tone warm as he held her.  
"Russel! You're back!" Amber cried out. "I was worried about you."  
"Yeah, I'm back," he nodded. Patting her on the head gently, he sighed. "You don't gotta worry about me, but it's real sweet of you."  
Amber pouted. “I can’t help it. I worry about everyone!”  
Russel smiled down at her gently. “Where’s your dad, Am?”  
Amber’s mood seemed to drop, and her eyes darted away. Murdoc cleared his throat slightly, making Russel glare.  
“What happened?” He asked, frowning.  
“Dad’s lost at sea,” Amber said softly. Before Russel could say another word, she added, “He isn’t dead. He’s just lost at sea.”  
“You don’t gotta convince me,” Russel mused. “I know he ain’t dead.”  
The girl’s eyes lit up slightly. She trusted Russel with ghost stuff, as just about everyone did. Her father had mentioned his connection to spirits, sometimes even in his late night, drunken ramblings. Hope was reassured. If Russel said her father wasn’t dead, that was practically proof for her.  
“You found us just in time!” Amber said with a big grin. “I’ve got a show tomorrow.”  
“Oh?” Russel raised a brow. “A show? What’s it about?”  
Amber thought for a moment. “I wanna surprise you,” she decided, giving the man a cheeky grin.  
Russel slowly nodded. “Okay. Well, consider me excited.”

The next night was the big night. Amber stood in her costume, shaking with excitement. When it was her time to go on stage, she did her best to perform her character. She delivered her lines with perfect timing, and did her best to get into the role of the character. She got a little nervous at one point, but when she saw Russel and Murdoc supporting her, she was reassured and kept on going.  
She put her whole heart and soul into the performance, and eventually it was time for her final bow. Aside her cast members, she bowed, more proud of herself than she'd been in a while. She could see Murdoc and Russel applauding her from the audience. Finally, things were getting better.


	23. Post Phase Three - 4

Amber's life was truly looking up. It wasn't just her and Murdoc anymore, and she couldn't be happier. Russel's arrival meant a few things for her. She had two people to go to if she had nightmares or just didn't want to be alone, two people to help her with schoolwork and any troubles she had. They'd alternate picking her up from school, though both always would ask her how her day was after she was finished with her day. They'd alternate making dinner, with Russel cooking food for them on his nights, and Murdoc would pick up pizza or takeaway. Both men were keen to argue quite a bit, but when Amber was around they set aside most of their differences as though to keep from stressing her out more then she was on her own.  
Life, naturally, was getting to be stressful for the girl. She was young, not even 10 years old yet, being introduced to wild things one after another. The adults closest to her could clearly see that, no matter how much she promised she was okay, she wasn't always doing the best. She didn't want to be a burden, so she kept all of what was wrong to herself until she'd inevitably explode and need to sob on someone's shoulder. Then they'd call her in sick the next day, let her relax, and then she'd go a month or so before her next breakdown occurred. Even though life was looking up, she was still struggling,

One Saturday afternoon provided something to lift a bit of the weight from Amber's shoulders. A large crate had arrived at the front door. Russel's eyes had widened slightly when he'd seen it, and he could hardly find the words to call for Murdoc. When Murdoc saw the crate, he too got a shocked, wide eyed look on his face. They exchanged nervous eye contact before opening up the box. A woman, mask half on her face and wearing a wrinkled dress, was curled in the box. Some crumpled packets of crisps were discarded, and a guitar was rested beside her. A sheathed blade was also within the box. Both men's eyes widened further, if it was even possible. They were aghast at what was before them. At the light, she began to stir, confused. When she locked eyes with Russel and Murdoc, a gasp left her.  
"I heard something loud," Amber said, curious as she walked down the stairs. "Is everything okay?"  
"Amber?" The woman whispered, a little smile growing on her face as her head poked from the box.  
"Noodle?" Amber gasped, face lighting up. She'd seen the windmill crashing, Noodle had died... but she was alive, and in their living room. She felt happy tears building up. In an instant she was sprinting to the box, and in another Noodle was scooping her up and pulling her into a tight hug. "You're alive," Amber sniffled, face pressed against Noodle's shoulder. "You're home."  
"I'm alive," Noodle agreed, rubbing her back gently. "And I'm here to stay, okay?"  
"Okay," Amber whimpered. "I missed you so much. I thought... I thought you were dead."  
'It's okay, I'm okay. I missed you too." Noodle kissed her head after speaking.  
Murdoc cleared his throat. "In a moment, can I speak to you, Noodle?"  
Noodle glared up at him, eyes narrowing darkly. She opened her mouth to speak, but he spoke again before she could.  
"It would be better if we spoke with Amber out of the room," he said gently. "There's a lot to go over, and I'd rather not upset her."  
Amber lifted her head and glanced up at Noodle. "I can wait for a little while. I got lots to show you when you're done!"  
Noodle smiled at Amber. "Alright. I shouldn't be too long."  
Amber hurried upstairs quickly. Before Murdoc started speaking, Noodle hugged Russel.  
Russel had been silently crying since Noodle woke up. "God, I missed being able to hug you, Noodle."  
Noodle weakly laughed. "Last time I saw you, you were giant. I'm glad you're not giant anymore."  
"Me too," Russel said softly, wiping his cheeks with the back of his hand. Then, with a sigh, he sat her on the couch. "We've got lots of catching up to do, baby girl."

As the three had finished talking, and Noodle acknowledged Murdoc’s many apologies, Noodle had walked upstairs to spend time with Amber. They’d told her about 2D. How he was gone, “lost at sea,” missing in action. She felt a slight guilt in her chest. Poor Amber was probably the bravest kid she knew. She’d seen so much destruction and lost so many people. Noodle decided, much as Murdoc and Russel had, that she’d do her part to make sure Amber had a nice life and to make sure Amber felt loved and safe. She went up the stairs and gently knocked on Amber's door.  
"Come in!" Amber chirped.  
Noodle opened the door and smiled as she found Amber sitting on the floor with her rabbit on her lap. Noodle sat beside her and tilted her head curiously.  
"What's their name?" Noodle asked her.  
"Caesar," she said cheerfully. "Murdoc got him for me!"  
Noodle blinked, seeming mildly surprised. “That was awfully nice of him. Did Russel have to force him to do that?”  
“Nah, I got Caesar before Russel even came home,” Amber mused.  
“Hm,” Noodle murmured, looking thoughtful. “He’s a lovely little rabbit.”  
“My wabbit!” Amber said quickly, face lighting up. She laughed slightly. “Well, Muds says I’m the wabbit and Caesar's a rabbit.”  
Noodle smiled. "Well, you must've grown on him. I didn't know that man had a nice bone in his body."  
Amber paused. Everything wasn't always sunshine and rainbows with Murdoc. He was a human being, and a flawed human at that. Sometimes, if she got in trouble at school, or if she was being particularly bratty, or if it was just a bad night for Murdoc, he'd be quick to get mad at her, snapping and sometimes even shouting at her. Though, if he got into a better state of mind later on, or if he got that guilty feeling he got sometimes, he'd apologise if he was too harsh. Sometimes he forgot, though, or was oblivious. She tried her best not to hold it against him. He'd done much worse.  
"Yeah, turns out he does," Amber said with a little nod. She paused, then her face seemed to light up. “You can share my room with me if you want! It’s big enough for both of us.”  
Noodle gave her a little pat on the head, a happy smile on her face. “I’d love to stay here with you.”

Summer holiday was coming to a close. Noodle had been with them for a while and was helping take care of Amber just like Murdoc and Russel. She took on a task that tended to be difficult. Waking up Amber when she needed to be somewhere early, generally when she needed to go to school.  
A lot of the time, though, it was an easy task. Noodle would gently shake Amber, humming a tune, and tell her she’d made breakfast. That would get her out of bed. Amber loved it when Noodle cooked traditional Japanese meals just as much as she loved learning the recipes and making the food with her. It felt a lot more special than Murdoc just dumping some Cheerios with a bit of sugar into a bowl for her. Though, she didn’t think she really wanted Murdoc cooking for her, since she didn’t really think he could cook.  
After school and her drama club, one of the three adults would pick her up and take her home. She’d sit in the front seat, and sometimes even get control of the radio. Life was... life was pretty good.  
Every Friday, Noodle would take Amber out to eat and they’d have time to talk together. It was the highlight of her week. The next day, they’d do something fun. They’d go out and do something in the city together, or everyone would find a cozy place in the lounge to curl up and they’d watch a movie together.  
With Amber’s luck, maybe she was right about her father. Maybe he was really just lost at sea.


End file.
